Falling Snow
by orkestrel
Summary: Volekit and Cloudkit have always dreamed of becoming ShiningClan's finest warriors. And now that they're apprentices, they're closer than ever. But a threat looms in the forest, and Volepaw and Cloudpaw quickly find out that the fate that you want isn't always the one you get. ((OC-BASED))
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

"Are you sure we can't change their fates? They're such strong kits. It'd be a shame to just-."

"Goldenhawk, you're a medicine cat. You know that StarClan has no business meddling in the world of the living."

Goldenhawk sighed and glanced at the playing kits once more. There was a tiny tom, golden-brown with tabby stripes; and two she-cats, one black with white flecks and the other white with brown tabby splotches. All three were healthy and lively. They would make great warriors one day.

"Can't we at least warn them of what lies ahead, Shiningstar?"

The she-cat sighed.

"Come, Goldenhawk."

Shiningstar got to her paws and turned away from the camp. Goldenhawk followed after one last look at her former home. Her shimmering paws made no sound as she padded after her companion.

"I understand that you want to help, Goldenhawk," Shiningstar sighed once she caught up. "It's only natural for a medicine cat, or even a leader like myself. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to protect those kits as much as you do."

Goldenhawk sighed. "Shall we return then?"

"Sounds good to me."

Goldenhawk shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she was back in the forests of StarClan. While Shiningstar padded deeper into the woods, she remained at the edge, gazing sadly at her paws.

 _I need to be there to protect my Clan. Maybe if I wasn't so reckless, I would be._

* * *

 _Goldenhawk stalked through the undergrowth. The night was so thick she could scarcely see her own paws in front of her. She was following Ivystar and his only son, Wolfkit through the woods. Warriors from both OneClan and DuskClan had both reported sightings of ShiningClan's leader on their territory. He denied the claims, yet Goldenhawk was still suspicious._

 _"_ _Are we almost there?" Wolfkit squeaked._

 _"_ _Yes, just through those ferns," Ivystar replied._

 _Goldenhawk tasted the air to get an idea of where in ShiningClan territory they were. She tasted river-scent._

We're nearly at the edge of the territory, _Goldenhawk thought._ Ivystar must not want any witnesses to whatever he's about to do.

 _Her stomach lurched. She silently prayed that Ivystar wasn't about to do what she thought he was._

 _She ducked under a clump of ferns and peered through the leaves. She had a perfect view of Wolfkit and Ivystar._

 _"_ _Wow! The river is even cooler than mother told me it was!"_

 _"_ _Yes, it is impressive isn't it? This is the edge of ShiningClan territory. DuskClan lies just over there."_

 _Goldenhawk unsheathed her claws and bunched up her haunches. Suddenly, Ivystar's head whipped around and his yellow eyes fixed on the fern that she was hiding in. Goldenhawk's fur stood on end, and she tried to scoot backwards. Her back paw landed on a dead leaf, and it made a noisy crunch._

Mouse-dung! _She thought._

 _Ivystar's eyes narrowed, and Goldenhawk nearly gasped._

Aren't Ivystar's eyes green?

 _Goldenhawk growled and launched herself at the cat._

 _"_ _Impostor!" she screeched._

 _The tom dodged skillfully and had her pinned to the ground in a heartbeat._

 _"_ _You medicine cats are far smarter than the warriors, aren't you?"_

 _"_ _Who are you?" Goldenhawk spat._

 _"_ _It would be no fun if I told you now, would it?"_

 _Goldenhawk twisted her neck to look at Wolfkit._

 _"_ _Run, Wolfkit!"_

 _"_ _Ink, Mangle, Snake! Keep him surrounded!" the tom yowled._

 _Suddenly, three cats slipped out of the undergrowth and stood around Wolfkit. They bared their teeth like dogs, and their tails lashed furiously. Goldenhawk had to squint as moonlight reflected off of something attached to one's back leg. It looked like something a Twoleg would make. She heard the tom above her chuckle, and she turned her attention back to him._

 _"_ _Time to make sure we have no witnesses," he purred._

 _Before she had time to react, the tom's jaws were fastened around her neck. Goldenhawk yowled in pain and fury. She clawed wildly at his face, but to no avail. He released her neck and stepped back, licking the blood from his muzzle. Goldenhawk heard Wolfkit wail something that sounded like her name, and then everything went black._

* * *

 _Wolfkit bit back a terrified wail. He couldn't let these mangy loners get to him._

Everything's fine, _he thought._ Mother and father will come and save me.

 _He was snapped out of his thoughts by an ear-splitting yowl. The gray tom who had led him here had fixed his teeth in Goldenhawk's neck. Blood gushed from the wound._

 _"_ _Goldenhawk!" he wailed._

 _The tom released the old she-cat and stepped back. He swiped his tongue around his muzzle. Wolfkit turned his attention back to Goldenhawk. She lay limp in a pool of her own blood._

 _"_ _She hardly put up a fight," he muttered. "It's a shame she followed the medicine cat's path. She had a strong body."_

 _Just then, a cat burst forth from the bushes and bowled the gray tom over._

 _"_ _Father!" Wolfkit squeaked._

 _Ivystar's eyes widened when his opponent finally relaxed under his paws._

 _"_ _Graykit?"_

 _The tom thrust his back paws into Ivystar's stomach and scrambled away while he was distracted._

 _"_ _It's just Gray now," he snarled._

 _"_ _Adderstrike, Ashpuddle, take care of the others," Ivystar commanded once he shook his surprise off. "Buzzardflight, get Wolfkit back to camp and bring back reinforcements!"_

 _Before Wolfkit knew what was happening, the cats around him had fallen into clawing, hissing heaps of fur. He yelped when something grabbed him by his scruff. His body thumped against a mass of long black fur._

 _"_ _Buzzardflight?"_

 _The tom grunted in response. He slowed to a stop and let Wolfkit drop to the ground._

 _"_ _Keep up," he panted after a moment of rest, and then began trotting towards camp. Wolfkit scurried after him._

 _"_ _Will mother and father be ok fighting those…" What were they? Rogues? Another Clan?_

 _"_ _Ivystar and Adderstrike are ShiningClan's leader and deputy. They'll be more than fine."_

 _"_ _Okay…"_

 _"_ _Now, let's get you back to Emberpad. She's been worried out of her fur since she found out you left."_


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

"C'mon Cloudkit! Wake up!"

"Volekit… quiet down. I'm trying to sleep. And quit poking me! It hurts."

"Maplepaw promised she'd teach us how to hunt today, though. Remember?"

Cloudkit groaned and opened her eyes. "Maplepaw's probably not even awake yet. Besides, you've still got bedding in your pelt."

"Nuh-uh!" Volekit twisted her neck back to see for herself.

"Yes you do. Now, let me get it for you," Otterpelt, the kits' mother, purred.

Volekit huffed as she was pulled towards Otterpelt. She sent a glare in Cloudkit's direction while her mother picked moss from her sleep-ruffled fur. Her sister smirked as she got to her paws and stretched.

"Alright, now you two can go," Otterpelt mewed once she was finished grooming Volekit. "Remember, stay in camp and don't get hurt."

"Got it!" Volekit replied, already on her paws and dashing out of the nursery.

She was immediately met with a mass of long, ginger tabby fur.

"Someone's excited for their special training session, huh?"

"Sorry, about that Maplepaw!"

The she-cat purred as Cloudkit trotted up behind her. "No problem. Let's go over by the apprentice's den. Oakkit's already over there. Wolfpaw's out training with Roselight right now, so it'll be empty for a while."

When the three cats reached their destination, they were met by an excitedly bouncing Oakkit. His eyes gleamed happily as he greeted his denmates.

"Alright," Maplepaw started. "First, we'll practice posture. Drop down to the ground like this."

The ginger she-cat dropped down so that her long belly fur brushed against the ground. Volekit mimicked the pose as best she could.

"Not that low, Oakkit," Maplepaw purred. She used her bushy tail to gently nudge Oakkit's body away from the ground. "There. Perfect! Now, Cloudkit, you'll want to lower your tail a bit. Yes, just like that. And Volekit… Wow! You're perfect already!"

"R-really?" Volekit mewed, unable to keep the excitement from crawling into her voice.

"Yup! Now we'll learn how to move without alerting prey."

* * *

"Maplepaw said I'd be the best hunter in the whole Clan one day!" Volekit squeaked as her mother groomed her.

"I wouldn't doubt it for a heartbeat," Otterpelt purred.

Cloudkit yawned and fluffed up her black-and-white fur. "When I'm a real apprentice, I'll make sure that I become better than you."

"Then I'll just have to keep getting better now!" Volekit mewed. She got to her paws and dropped into the hunter's crouch, and after stalking a few tail-lengths away from Otterpelt, she pounced on a stray piece of moss. Her mother chuckled quietly.

"Time to sleep, my fierce little warrior," she mewed.

"Aww," Volekit whined. "I bet Ivystar and Adderstrike never have to sleep."

Otterpelt chuckled again. "You should have seen Adderstrike when she was an apprentice. It took her poor mentor ages to wake her up for dawn patrols."

"Really?" Cloudkit purred sleepily. She had already curled up in the nest that they shared with their mother.

"Oh yes," Otterpelt replied, grinning, "Ivystar was pretty lazy as well."

"Don't let him hear you say that," Palefur, Oakkit's mother, mewed from the other side of the nursery. "He might threaten to fall asleep on top of you."

Volekit couldn't help but smile as she curled against her mother's warm belly. _I wonder what I'll be like when I'm an apprentice._


	3. Chapter 2

Cloudkit awoke to the sound of murmuring voices.

"Volekit, Oakkit," she growled. "Keep it down, I'm sleepin'."

When the voices didn't stop, she opened her eyes and sat up.

"I said-."

Cloudkit looked around, eyes wide. She definitely wasn't in the nursery. She was in a forest. The grass beneath her paws was soft as feathers. Everything was green, and the air tasted of all sorts of prey.

 _Weird,_ she thought. _It's leaf-fall isn't it? Why is everything so… green?_

The murmuring voices reached Cloudkit's ears again. She followed the sound until she reached what looked like a clearing. She dropped into the hunter's crouch that Maplepaw taught her and crept as close as she dared to the clearing. Two cats sat in the middle, deep in conversation. Cloudkit recognized one as ShiningClan's medicine cat, Sheepnose. The white she-cat was speaking with a large, strong-looking tabby she-cat. Cloudkit perked her ears in hopes of catching a piece of their conversation.

"…Volekit, Cloudkit, and Oakkit?"

Cloudkit's heart skipped a beat. Why were they talking about her and her denmates?

"But the prophecy calls for three cats who are kin, doesn't it?" Sheepnose continued, snapping Cloudkit out of her thoughts.

"That's what I'd assumed, but it could be any three cats," her companion replied. Her voice was deep, and it sounded just as strong as she looked.

Sheepnose closed her eyes and dipped her head. She sighed.

"Thank you, Goldenhawk," she mewed, opening her eyes.

Goldenhawk dipped her head. Sheepnose stood and padded out of the clearing and into the woods. After a few heartbeats, Goldenhawk did the same.

Cloudkit sat back on her haunches and gazed at her paws. There was a prophecy and she was a part of it!

 _But what_ is _the prophecy?_ she thought.

"Cloudkit!"

Cloudkit nearly jumped out of her fur. She whirled around to see who had called her name, but the forest seemed to be empty aside from her. Suddenly, her vision began growing darker.

 _No! I need to speak to Goldenhawk!_

* * *

Cloudkit felt a sharp jab in her side. She opened her eyes and scrambled to her paws. Volekit stood beside her, one paw raised and ready to jab Cloudkit's side again, and Oakkit stood a little farther away, his whiskers twitching in amusement.

"You're awfully jumpy," Volekit purred, "Did you have a bad dream or something?"

"Yeah, sure," Cloudkit grumbled. She sat down and licked her chest fur in embarrassment.

"You better calm down before your apprentice ceremony," Otterpelt mewed as she ducked into the nursery with three mice dangling from her jaws. She dropped one in front of each of the kits.

"You forgot that that was today, didn't you Cloudkit?" Volekit squeaked happily.

"How could I?"

Cloudkit had honestly forgotten about her upcoming apprentice ceremony. She was too busy with her weird dream. She wondered if she should tell Oakkit and Volekit about the prophecy as she bit into her mouse.

 _No, I want Volekit to focus on her ceremony. Oakkit's still an entire moon younger than us._

Cloudkit would tell them one day, but that day wasn't today.


	4. Chapter 3

"Cloudkit, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Cloudpaw. Bluewing will be your mentor."

Volekit watched as her sister stepped down from the top of Ivystar's den and padded to her new mentor. Despite how young Bluewing was, she was one of the strongest and most respected cats in ShiningClan. She would make a great mentor.

"Volekit," Ivystar began once the cats gathered below had ceased their cheering. Excitement coursed through Volekit's entire body. She couldn't keep her tail-tip from twitching ever so slightly.

"Until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Volepaw. Your mentor will be Adderstrike."

Volekit's eyes widened. She was going to be trained by the deputy of ShiningClan? She padded over to where Adderstrike sat, right at the edge of Ivystar's den. The she-cat stood as she approached. Volekit couldn't help but purr quietly as she and her new mentor touched noses. As they pulled apart, the Clan began cheering again.

"Cloudpaw! Volepaw!"

Ivystar looked down into the crowd. He waited until the clamor died down before dismissing the meeting. Volepaw caught Cloudpaw padding towards her with Bluewing right on her tail.

"We're apprentices now, Cloudpaw!" she purred.

"I know, mouse-brain. What else would that ceremony have been for?" Cloudpaw's tail lashed happily behind her, betraying her excitement.

"You two should go find your mother and father," Bluewing mewed. "I think I saw them heading towards the nursery."

Adderstrike nodded. "Yes, and then head to your new den. Wolfpaw and Maplepaw have already made your nests for you. And don't stay up all night chattering. Training starts first thing tomorrow morning."

Volepaw dipped her head. "Got it!"

As they approached, Ottersplash looked up from speaking with Palefur. She purred and licked Volepaw's head when she reached her.

"I'm so proud of you two."

Volekit felt a bushy tail brush against her shoulder and turned to see her father, Poolgaze, gazing down at her and Cloudkit with bright blue eyes.

"You two will be amazing warriors, I'm sure of it!"

"Definitely!" Oakkit squeaked, tumbling out of the nursery.

Volepaw's whiskers twitched in amusement as she watched him scramble to his paws. She'd miss her old denmate. _Don't think like that! He'll be in the apprentice's den when he's old enough._

"We should head to sleep now, Volepaw," Cloudpaw mewed.

"Right," she replied. She touched noses with her mother and father one more time, and her sister did the same.

"Save me a spot in there!" Oakkit called out as they padded away.

"Okay!" Volepaw and Cloudpaw replied in unison.

Maplepaw greeted them at the front of the den.

"C'mon," she mewed, turning and ducking into the den. Volepaw and Cloudpaw followed. Wolfpaw merely lifted his head as they entered. Maplepaw lay down in the nest closest to him. "Those two are yours." She pointed with her nose.

"Thanks," Volepaw mewed, plopping down in one. Cloudpaw lay down next to her.

"Are they comfortable enough?" Maplepaw asked.

"They're perfect," Cloudpaw purred contendedly, burrowing deeper into the moss.

"Good," Wolfpaw grunted. "Maplepaw made me skip training to help her make those." He rested his head on his paws and closed his eyes.

Maplepaw gave him a dirty look. "At least we know it was worth it now. Sleep well, you two."

"No problem," Cloudpaw yawned, already half asleep.

"You too, Maplepaw," Volepaw replied, shifting so that her pelt brushed against Cloudpaw's. Volepaw shut her eyes and let peaceful sleep wash over her.


	5. Chapter 4

"This is the river that separates our territory from DuskClan's."

"It's beautiful…"

They had spent nearly the entire day exploring ShiningClan's territory. The sun had begun to set, and it made the water before them glow orange. Fallen leaves littered the surface and moved gently downriver. Adderstrike began padding along the river's edge, and Volepaw, Cloudpaw, and Bluewing followed.

"The waterfall is up ahead," Bluewing started. "Stay away from it if you can help it. I've seen enough cats go tumbling down it. Never saw them again."

"What's at the bottom?" Cloudpaw asked.

"We don't really know," Adderstrike answered. "There aren't any paths that lead down there. Well, besides the waterfall."

Bluewing snorted. "The only place that path will lead you is StarClan."

"How do cats get killed by it?" Cloudpaw inquired. "I can hear it from here."

Her sister was right. Volepaw could hear a distant roaring. The waterfall sounded just as fearsome as Bluewing and Adderstrike had said it was. She wondered if it looked that way too.

"The last cat to fall down there was a DuskClan warrior," Bluewing replied. "His name was Nightwatcher, I think. Anyways, he got too caught up in a hunt and stopped running a little too late. I've also heard of cats being sucked down by the river when the current was too strong to swim in."

Volepaw swallowed nervously. She'd stay away from here as much as possible. Adderstrike must have sensed her fear, because she rested her tail on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring look.

"We're pretty close to the edge now," she mewed. "We'd better head back, unless you two want to see the view."

Cloudpaw's eyes shone with excitement. "I do!"

Volepaw sighed. "Guess I don't have a choice then, huh?"

Adderstrike purred. "C'mon. You'll love it."

Volepaw padded after her three companions. She barely held back a surprised gasp. Below her, orange trees stretched out as far as she could see. The river cut through the forests like a snake in tall grass. The setting sun only made the leaf-fall leaves brighter. It was so beautiful! Why hadn't any of the Clans found a way down there yet? There was probably enough prey and shelter to support a whole Clan!

"It's even prettier during leaf-bare," Adderstrike snapped Volepaw out of her thoughts.

Bluewing nodded. "During the day, the snow shines brighter than the stars. At sunset, everything is so orange and peaceful looking. And at night… At night it looks like Silverpelt itself has come down to the earth."

Cloudpaw looked up. "Really? I'd love to see that."

Bluewing purred. "You'll get to pretty soon. Leaf-bare's nearly here."

Adderstrike's face fell. "Which means less prey and more terrible weather."

Bluewing sighed. "We'd better get you two back to camp. You must be tired and hungry."

Cloudpaw nodded. "My paws feel like they're about to fall off."

"Yeah," Volepaw mewed. "I knew ShiningClan's territory was big, but I didn't think it was nearly this huge."

Adderstrike turned away from the cliff and padded towards the woods. She gestured for the other she-cats to follow. Volepaw trotted after her.

"I could definitely go for a nice fat vole right now," Volepaw heard Cloudpaw mew from behind her.

Adderstrike chuckled, her good mood returning. "I'm sure there's plenty of fresh-kill waiting for you at camp."

* * *

Volepaw watched Cloudpaw flop down into her nest.

"I can finally rest," she groaned. "And we don't have to be awake till sunhigh tomorrow."

Volepaw lay down in her nest and closed her eyes. "Goodnight, sleepyhead."

Cloudpaw scoffed. "Goodnight."


	6. Chapter 5

Volepaw yawned and sat up in her nest. She licked her sleep-ruffled fur flat. She heard Cloudpaw moving around in her nest beside her.

Volepaw's sister purred sleepily. "Gatherings sure do take a lot out of you, huh?"

"Yeah. I didn't have it nearly as bad as Oakpaw, though. He flopped as soon as he set paw in the den!"

Volepaw looked over at the little golden apprentice. He was sprawled across his nest, snoring gently. He had been apprenticed for about a moon now, and Stagheart had been assigned to mentor him.

Wolfpaw poked his head into the den. "Wake up, you three. You promised you'd tell me and Maplepaw all about the Gathering."

Cloudpaw yawned. "We're coming."

Volepaw's whiskers twitched. "I don't think Oakpaw's waking up for a while, though."

The gray tabby apprentice backed out of the den and turned. "We've got fresh-kill waiting for you out here."

"'Kay," Volepaw mewed in reply.

Cloudpaw got to her paws and stretched. "Shall we go?"

Volepaw followed suit. "Yup."

Volepaw blinked against the bright light that met her when she exited the den. Leaf-bare was coming, and with it, it brought harsh, cold winds and dark clouds. She shivered and fluffed out her brown-and-white pelt. Wolfpaw and Maplepaw were settled at the opposite end of the clearing. Cloudpaw had already started towards them, and Volepaw followed a few tail-lengths away. When they arrived, she noticed two voles lying on the ground next to them.

Wolfpaw shuffled impatiently. "C'mon, what happened?"

Cloudpaw growled quietly. "Calm down, we haven't even sat down yet!"

The gray tabby tom huffed and flattened his ears, watching as Volepaw and Cloudpaw settled down and tucked into their meals. Volepaw had to bite back a purr. The vole was fat and juicy, especially for leaf-bare. Volepaw absentmindedly thought about where the dawn patrol could have gotten in while she chewed.

Wolfpaw's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Cloudpaw, you're done. Start talking."

"Fine, fine!" Volepaw's sister grumbled. She straightened up slightly and licked her lips. "Alright. Well, DuskClan claims to have seen Ivystar on their territory again."

Volepaw noticed Wolfpaw's tail twitch in irritation. He bared his teeth in a silent snarl. "Why don't they believe us when we tell them it's that mangy loner and his group?"

Maplepaw shrugged and yawned. "Maybe because they look identical? They are brothers, after all."

Wolfpaw huffed. "My father would never do anything like they do. Wildstar should know that."

Volepaw licked her lips and sat up. "Hey Wolfpaw." The tom's green gaze flicked to her. "You had a run-in with that rogue group when you were a kit, right? You never really told us about it."

Wolfpaw's ears twitched and he looked away. "Don't really wanna talk about it…"

Maplepaw cast a worried glance at him before looking back at Cloudpaw. "Anything else interesting happen?"

Cloudpaw hummed in thought. "No not really. OneClan didn't show up."

Maplepaw got to her paws and stretched. "That's normal. They don't have a leader to represent them. Not even a medicine cat. And they don't have enough warriors to watch over camp while they're gone." She straightened up. "Well, Buzzardflight's probably waiting on me. See you later!" She turned and trotted towards the warriors' den.

Cloudpaw stood as well. "I'm gonna go ask Bluewing when we're leaving for training." She looked back at Volepaw. "Want me to ask Adderstrike when you're going out?"

Volepaw nodded. "That'd be nice. Thanks sis!"

Cloudpaw glanced over her shoulder, already on her way. "No problem!"

Volepaw licked her paw and drew it over her muzzle. Wolfpaw shuffled into a sitting position beside her. "Sorry about how I acted up earlier," he mumbled.

Volepaw blinked in shock. "N-no… It's okay. I understand."

Wolfpaw met her gaze for a heartbeat before briskly nodding and padding off. Volepaw gazed after him. What was that look in his eyes? Before she could contemplate it any longer, Cloudpaw trotted up to her, Oakpaw on her tail. His green eyes were still a bit tired, but he looked much better than he did last night.

Volepaw purred. "Feelin' better, Oakpaw?"

The tom yawned. "Yeah."

Cloudpaw snorted. "By the way, Adderstrike wants to take a break today. So do Bluewing and Stagheart." She sighed. "We'll probably get stuck cleaning out dens all day."

Just as Volepaw opened her mouth to reply, Oakpaw spoke. "Hey, Ivystar's climbing up the Meeting Rock."

Cloudpaw narrowed her eyes slightly. "What's he gonna say? I mean, Wolfpaw and Maplepaw aren't nearly old enough to be warriors, and I haven't heard anyone talking about moving to the elder's den."

Volepaw stood. "Let's get closer." Her denmates nodded and followed her to the front of the gathering crowd. Adderstrike sat at the base of the Meeting Rock, facing the rest of the Clan. Mousetail, Emberpad, and Rocktail emerged from the nearby elders' den. They sat in a little group at the edge of the crowd. The three apprentices settled down next to Ashpuddle and Dewleaf. The two toms were murmuring amongst themselves.

Dewleaf nodded at them as they sat, but turned back to Ashpuddle soon after. "Wonder what's going on…"

 _So not even the warriors know what Ivystar's about to say._

Cloudpaw hissed quietly. "He's starting!"

"Cats of ShiningClan!"


	7. Chapter 6

"Cats of ShiningClan! Gather beneath the Meeting Rock and hear my words."

A hush fell over the crowd of cats. Each one gazed up expectantly at Ivystar. The leader gazed back, his green eyes calm.

"Adderstrike and I have come to a decision," he started, his deep voice echoing throughout the clearing. "DuskClan is under the impression that I have been intruding on their territory in recent moons. However, we have learned that it is my brother, Gray, and his band of rogues who have been wandering about."

Adderstrike got to her paws and climbed up next to Ivystar. "Yes. None of the witnesses had ever seen the intruder up close, and therefore, have failed to notice that he has yellow eyes as opposed to Ivystar's green ones."

Ashpuddle shuffled his paws and leaned towards Dewleaf. "Where are they going with this?" The gray tom shrugged in response. Volepaw was equally as confused.

"Yes," Ivystar continued. "Thanks to those rogues, we are looked down on by the other Clans, especially DuskClan." He paused, narrowing his eyes. "We believe it's time we changed that. We will be looked up to. We will be feared."

A crushing silence enveloped the cats. Volepaw glanced around at her Clanmates. Many seemed to be contemplating, and some looked… afraid?

A sharp growl snapped her attention back to the Meeting Rock. Adderstrike had moved herself in front of Ivystar and was glowering down at the Clan. "So? Will you fight? Or are you going to sit back on your haunches and let DuskClan tread on your tails?"

The silence was broken by a sudden yowl. Volepaw whipped her head around. Wolfpaw had gotten to his paws and began cheering in support of the plan. Two more voices rose from the crowd to join him. Then more, and more. Soon the whole Clan was on their paws and yowling their approval.

"Good, good," Ivystar meowed. "Now, I'll let Adderstrike explain to you our plans."

The tom backed down from the edge of the Meeting Rock and Adderstrike took his place.

"First, we need to show those rogues who's in charge. We know that they've set up a camp somewhere near OneClan's territory. We'll attack and drive them away from the forest." A murmur of approval arose from the crowd.

"What happens after that?" Volepaw recognized Eelfin's voice.

"I believe it would be best to work on one phase of the plan at a time," the deputy mewed calmly. "Any other questions?"

Cloverpelt raised her voice. "When will we attack?"

"We first need to send out some cats to track down their camp," Adderstrike replied. "Clawdusk, Iceflower." The she-cats looked up at the sound of their names. "You both have exceptional tracking skills. I'm putting you two in charge of the search."

Both dipped their heads. "We'll do our best, Adderstrike," Clawdusk mewed.

Adderstrike did the same. "I expect no less of you. Alright, time to send out patrols. Cloverpelt, take Amberclaw and Ashpuddle on a border patrol on the river border." The she-cat dipped her head and moved to gather her cats. "Any other able cats should organize themselves into small hunting patrols. Leaf-bare is coming quickly, and we need as much fresh-kill as we can get."

Ivystar dipped his head to her as she stepped down from the Meeting Rock. "Dismissed."

Cloudpaw smirked. "Can't wait to sink my claws into those rogues' pelts."

Oakpaw shuffled uneasily. Volepaw cast a questioning glance at him, but he merely shook his head and grinned. She sighed and gazed around camp. Warriors were already forming small hunting patrols all around them.

"Don't worry Volepaw," Adderstrike's voice snapped Volepaw out of her thoughts. "You'll be out hunting tomorrow. Just take it easy today. You deserve it after all the hard work you've been doing."

Volepaw sighed. "I guess you're right."

Adderstrike studied her for a few heartbeats. She quietly chuckled. "You're not the type of cat to lie around camp all day. You always need to be out and about." When Volepaw opened her mouth to speak, Adderstrike silenced her with a flick of her tail. "That's not a bad thing. It means that you'll be of great help to the Clan." Volepaw blinked. Adderstrike chuckled again. "I think Sheepnose said something about gathering herbs for the upcoming battles. We could go help her if you want. It'd give you a chance to get out of camp for a while."

Volepaw couldn't help but lash her tail happily. "Sure!"

Adderstrike purred and looked past her. "Either of you want to come?"

Cloudpaw yawned. "I think I'm going to enjoy my day off."

"That sounds about right," Volepaw snickered. Cloudpaw shot her a dirty look. "You, Oakpaw?"

The tabby tom shook his head. "I'm gonna see if Stagheart will take me out for battle training."

"Alright," Adderstrike mewed. "Let's go, Volepaw."

"Ok. See you guys later!"

"See ya!"

"Have fun!"


	8. Chapter 7

Volepaw fluffed her pelt up against the cold air. Adderstrike and Sheepnose seemed to be doing the same.

"Leaf-bare's coming quicker than usual," Adderstrike commented from beside her.

Sheepnose nodded. "Which means we need all the herbs we can get before the snow buries them all. Thanks again for coming to help you two."

Adderstrike smiled. "It's nothing, Sheepnose. Volepaw's glad to be out of camp, right?"

Volepaw nodded and grinned reassuringly at the medicine cat. She smiled, her whiskers twitching happily.

"We're mainly looking for marigold and poppy." Sheepnose mewed. "Marigold grows in huge clumps down by the river. I'm sure you've seen them."

Volepaw nodded. "They're those huge yellow flowers right?"

"Yep, and poppies are-."

Volepaw butted in. "The bright red flowers that grow on the edges of the Gathering area! Adderstrike told me all about how each Clan has access to them."

Sheepnose purred. "Yeah! They're so bountiful that there's no need for us to fight over them. The other medicine cats must be out gathering them about now, too. We might meet one of them at the border." Volepaw noticed Adderstrike's amber eyes gleam momentarily at that. The tortoiseshell she quickly shook her head as if dispelling whatever she was thinking about.

"How can we help once we find the herbs we're looking for?"

"I'll show you how to gather the parts we need once we get there," Sheepnose replied. "It's not that difficult, you'll learn quickly."

Adderstrike nodded. The three she-cats then travelled in a companionable silence for a while. It felt weird to say it, but Volepaw was enjoying their slow pace. It gave her a chance to take in her surroundings, something she didn't really get to do while she was chasing after prey or being pinned down by one of the other apprentices in a mock battle. The trees had just about lost all of their leaves, which lay scattered across the forest floor, brown, lifeless. Their barren branches moved ever so slightly in the cold wind, and through them, Volepaw caught a glimpse of the dark, cloudy sky. Adderstrike must have noticed her looking around. She chuckled.

"Ivystar always says this is his favorite time of the year. Just between leaf-fall and leaf-bare. I never really understood the appeal of it. Everything just looks so… dead."

Sheepnose hummed in thought. "Well, it's better than when the snow falls and buries all of the herbs and chases the prey into their burrows."

Adderstrike sighed. "I guess. But the snow at least makes the forest look nice. But all these dead leaves…" She lashed her tail, sending a few of said leaves spiraling into the air.

Sheepnose hummed again. "I see what you mean."

Volepaw interrupted. "Hey, speaking of Ivystar, Adderstrike…"

Her mentor tilted her head. "What's up?"

She hesitated. This question had been bothering her for a while, but she had always been too afraid to ask. "Isn't it… against the warrior code for a deputy to have a mate and kits if they're a she-cat?"

Adderstrike opened her mouth to reply, but Sheepnose quickly interjected. "I don't really see a problem with it." When both Volepaw and Adderstrike stopped in their tracks to look at her questioningly, she stopped as well. "You manage to balance your duties as a deputy and mother very well, Adderstrike. You've never let Ivystar or Wolfpaw get in the way of you leading ShiningClan. It's quite impressive, actually."

Volepaw felt heat practically radiating from Adderstrike's pelt. Was she… embarrassed?

"Thanks Sheepnose," she finally replied, continuing to pad towards the forest's edge. Sheepnose and Volepaw followed. When they caught up, she continued speaking. "It really does mean a lot to me. Sometimes… I feel as if the Clan doesn't approve of my decision, but hearing that from you… I-"

Sheepnose shook her head. "You deserve to hear it." She looked ahead. "We're almost at the river, let's get going."

When they reached the edge of the woods, Sheepnose stopped and scanned the area. Her eyes stilled, and Volepaw followed her gaze. She was looking at a huge clump of marigold at the river's shore. She started towards them and signaled for Adderstrike and Volepaw to follow. As Volepaw padded after the she-cat, her gaze strayed towards the pine tree forest of DuskClan. A flicker of movement caught her attention. She froze. Two cats had emerged from the shadows of the pines and padded over to the barrier of poppies that surrounded the Gathering area.

"Uh, Sheepnose? Is that DuskClan's medicine cat?"

The she-cat lifted her head and followed her gaze. "Yeah, and her new apprentice, Snowpaw."

Adderstrike's eyes flicked towards them, shining with glee. "Pigeonheart!" she called out.

The she-cat lifted her head, ears pricked. "Adderstrike?" she called back. "Is that you?"

Adderstrike padded towards the tree-bridge that linked ShiningClan's territory to the Gathering area. "I'll come to you!" She stoppes and turned back to Sheepnose and Volepaw. "If that's okay with you guys."

Sheepnose nodded. "Go ahead. Oh! And while you're over there, would you mind gathering some poppy seeds? Pigeonheart probably has something to carry them back in."

"Of course." Adderstrike dipped her head and heaved herself up onto the log. Volepaw watched in awe as she effortlessly made her way across the river. She had nearly lost her balance the first time she had to cross it, and she had been going as slow as a snail then.

"Alright," Sheepnose's voice caught her attention. "We only need the marigold's leaves. You just have to nip them from the stem." She demonstrated on the flower closest to her. "Like that."

Volepaw crouched down and mimicked the medicine cat. She winced as the leaf's juice trickled into her mouth and onto her tongue. It had a sharp, bitter taste. She nearly spat it out, but resisted the urge. She set it on top of Sheepnose's already growing pile of leaves.

Sheepnose purred. "They don't taste very good, huh?"

Volepaw licked her lips. "Not at all."

Sheepnose continued gathering the leaves. "Good thing they aren't for eating."

Volepaw tilted her head. "What're they for, then?"

Sheepnose seemed glad to explain. "They help prevent injuries from getting infected. I chew them up into a poultice with some other herbs and smear them into a wound. Then, I bind it with cobwebs to hold it in place."

"Huh," Volepaw grunted around a marigold stem. "So _you_ have to taste them, but the patient doesn't."

Sheepnose shrugged slightly. "I'm used to it at this point."

Volepaw straightened up and glanced at the pile of marigold leaves they had gathered. They had quite a bit now. An unfamiliar voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Hey there, Sheepnose!"

Volepaw looked up. A black tom with snow-white paws was crouched atop the log that connected the two sides of the river. He looked to be a bit older than Volepaw and Cloudpaw. His bright blue eyes flicked between her and Sheepnose.

Sheepnose purred. "Hello Snowpaw. What brings you to this side of the river?"

"Pigeonheart asked me to come over and gather marigold with you two. She wanted to catch up with her sister."

Sheepnose smiled warmly at him. "Of course! Come down here. Volepaw can help you. I'm gonna go check on Adderstrike."

Snowpaw nodded and leapt down from the log, stumbling slightly when his paws hit the ground. Sheepnose swiftly took his place. Volepaw couldn't help but let her tail curl up in amusement. Snowpaw must've noticed.

"I've, uh, never had to cross the tree-bridge," he muttered.

Volepaw grinned. "It's not that difficult when you get the hang of it."

Snowpaw gave an embarrassed smile. "DuskClan and OneClan don't have much use for it."

Volepaw gestured for him to sit beside her, and he did. "So," she started, watching as Snowpaw began picking marigold leaves. "You're Snowpaw, right?" The tom nodded. "I met your sister at the last Gathering."

Snowpaw sighed. "I'm nothing at all like Jaypaw. She's brave and confident, and she's an amazing fighter. I'm... none of those things."

Volepaw purred. "You'd have to be pretty brave to intrude on another Clan's territory with the deputy's apprentice right next to you!"

She thrust her face towards him and bared her teeth in a mock snarl. Snowpaw cast a side glance at her. "Oh please, even I could take _you._ "

He gently pushed her face back with one paw. Volepaw snickered. She enjoyed Snowpaw's company. They chatted aimlessly for what felt like forever. They were interrupted when Sheepnose and Adderstrike crossed the tree-bridge and padded towards them. Snowpaw gathered up his pile of marigold and nodded at Volepaw before leaving.

 _I hope I can see him again sometime soon. He's really nice. He kind of reminds me of Oakpaw, actually..._


	9. Chapter 8

"All cats old enough to hunt, gather beneath the Meeting Rock!"

Ivystar's deep voice rang across the clearing. Volepaw looked up from grooming herself. The tom stood atop his den, Adderstrike sitting to his right as usual. Iceflower and Clawdusk stood to his left. When did they get back?

Cloudpaw padded up behind Volepaw, surprising her. "They got back yesterday while you were helping Maplepaw and Wolfpaw with their battle training. They both hit their nests as soon as they were finished reporting to Ivystar and Adderstrike. It'd make sense that you didn't see them." She and Volepaw sat side-by-side, in the middle of the crowd that was slowly gathering in front of the Meeting Rock. "Oh yeah, how'd their training go? I bet their mentors were preparing them for the upcoming fight."

Before Volepaw could reply, Oakpaw had sat next to her and muttered a quick greeting. His fur was ruffled, as if he hadn't groomed it after he woke up.

Volepaw cast a worried glance at him. "You okay, Oakpaw?"

He looked up quickly. "Huh? Oh, did you say something, Volepaw?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. I asked if you were feeling okay."

"Which you obviously aren't," Cloudpaw chimed. "What's up?"

Oakpaw sighed. He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Ivystar.

"Iceflower and Clawdusk have returned from their mission and have located the rogue group's camp." He stepped back, dipping his head to the two she-cats as they took his place at the edge of the rock.

Clawdusk was the first to speak. "The camp is just past OneClan's territory in a clearing in the mountains. It's not too far from the Crystal Pool's cavern."

Iceflower nodded. "We would have to travel through OneClan's territory to get there, but that shouldn't prove to be too difficult."

Adderstrike spoke up. "How many warriors do you think we should bring?"

The two she-cats considered the question. After a few moments, Clawdusk replied. "Around ten cats should be enough, I think. That sound about right, Iceflower?" When the white she-cat nodded, she continued. "Ten cats, then. We might be a bit outnumbered, I doubt every cat was in camp when we found it, but we've beaten them before. It shouldn't be a problem."

Iceflower chimed in. "Also, we noticed that they don't have a guard watching over camp at night."

Ivystar dipped his head, moving towards the front of the Meeting Rock once more. "Thank you, both of you." He turned to face the Clan. "We're going to plan the attack now. Until we've decided a strategy, you're dismissed."

Ivystar turned to whisper something in Adderstrike's ear. She nodded, and he climbed down. Iceflower and Clawdusk followed him into his den. Volepaw's attention flicked back towards Adderstrike. Her bright amber eyes scanned the crowd. Her gaze stopped and she nodded. "Bluewing will organize patrols until we're done."

Volepaw watched as she leapt down from the top of the rock and ducked into Ivystar's den. Cloudpaw nudged her shoulder with her nose.

"Wanna go ask Bluewing if we can go on a patrol together?"

Volepaw nodded. She flicked Oakpaw's ear with her tail as she stood up. "You're coming too, Oakpaw, whether you like it or not."

The tom sighed. "Alright."

As they approached Bluewing, they caught a snippet of her orders.

"Buzzardflight, Roselight, take your apprentices out for a border patrol and take, um… Amberclaw with you." She turned after watching the two leave, seeming to notice the three apprentices for the first time.

"Cloudpaw! What's up?"

"Hey, Bluewing. We," she gestured to Oakpaw and Volepaw with her tail, "were wondering if we could go out hunting."

Bluewing gave her a look. "Without a warrior? I don't know…"

"We'll be careful, I promise! Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

Bluewing narrowed her eyes. "Apprentices are not allowed to go outside of camp without a warrior's supervision. No."

Cloudpaw's ears flattened. "Why not?"

Bluewing sighed and rested her tail on Cloudpaw's shoulder. "You three are great apprentices, and you'll make even better warriors, but… I'm sorry, you three can't go out alone. I could get Sunstorm or one of the other senior warriors to take you-."

"No, that's fine," Cloudpaw sighed. She perked up almost immediately. "Hey, do you know if Sheepnose has any spare nest materials? It's getting cold and some feathers sound amazing right about now."

Bluewing tilted her head, obviously confused about her apprentice's sudden change of tone. "Er, I think she might've just got some new stuff in."

"Great! Thanks Bluewing! Volepaw, Oakpaw, you two go ahead to the den. I'll get some stuff for your nests too."

Cloudpaw trotted off in the direction of the medicine den, her tail waving happily behind her.

Oakpaw cleared his throat. "Let's go to the den… I guess?"

Volepaw blinked. "Yeah… Okay."

They padded towards the apprentice's den side-by-side. Both were still in a stunned sort of silence. _What had made Cloudpaw perk up like that? So suddenly too…_

They had barely stepped into the den when Cloudpaw ducked into the entrance from behind them. A clump of moss and feathers hung from her jaws. She dropped it in the middle of the den and sat down, curling her tail around her paws.

"Alright," she began, enthusiasm creeping into her voice. "We may not have been able to get out of camp, but we are alone now, which is just what I wanted."

Volepaw sighed. "What in StarClan's name are you up to, Cloudpaw?"

"I'm glad you asked, darling sister." Her blue eyes flicked over to Oakpaw. The tom gazed back uneasily. "Oakpaw, something's obviously up with you. So out with it!"

"Cloudpaw," Volepaw groaned. "At least be nice about it."

Oakpaw shuffled his paws. "Do you really want to know?"

Volepaw nodded. "Yeah, maybe we can help!"

"Mhmm."

Oakpaw sighed. "Alright then. The truth is, I don't really want to go and fight against that rogue group. I'm not very… confident in my fighting skills. I'm afraid I'd just bring the rest of the Clan down…"

Cloudpaw tilted her head. "That's all?"

Volepaw glared at her. "Cloudpaw-!"

"No no no, that's not what I'm saying," she interrupted. She returned her gaze to Oakpaw. He was clawing absentmindedly at a stray piece of moss. "You've told Stagheart what you just told us, yeah?" When Oakpaw nodded, she continued. "Then he wouldn't let Ivystar pick you for the attack party."

Oakpaw looked up from his piece of moss. "I guess. Thanks, Cloudpaw."

"No problem."

Volepaw sat up. "So are we gonna use that nest stuff? Or was that just an excuse?"

"Of course we're gonna use it! It'd be a huge waste not to. I think we have enough to fix up Maplepaw and Wolfpaw's nests too!"

* * *

 **A/N: Hello~! I just got back from a short vacation in which major inspiration for future chapters struck! But alas, I didn't have my computer with me the whole time. So, I'll be cranking out chapters rather quickly. You can expect at least one chapter a day for the next 3 or 4 days. ((And possibly the beginning of another story *wink*)) Also, thanks so much for all the reviews so far!**

 **~Kestrel 3**


	10. Chapter 9

"Along with Ivystar and I, Eelfin, Cloverpelt, Poolgaze, Volepaw, Cloudpaw, Iceflower, Stagheart and Amberclaw will attack the rogue camp."

Cloudpaw gazed up at Adderstrike as she listed off the warriors for the attack party. She heard Oakpaw breathe a sigh of relief from next to her when the deputy finished speaking. Cloudpaw flicked his shoulder with her tail.

"Told you so."

"Yeah... I wonder why they picked you two over Wolfpaw and Maplepaw though."

Cloudpaw heard Volepaw hum from her other side. "Yeah. They're older and much more experienced than we are. But, Adderstrike must have her reasons."

Said she-cat spoke once more. "Those of you who were chosen must go to Sheepnose for travelling herbs. Dismissed."

Cloudpaw got to her paws and stretched. "C'mon Volepaw, let's go get those herbs."

"Alright."

When they arrived, warriors were already clustered around Sheepnose. The medicine cat stood at the entrance to her den, giving out little bundles of leaves.

"I know they don't taste great Amberclaw. If I didn't know any better, I'd mistake you for an apprentice with the way you're whining."

Sheepnose caught sight of Cloudpaw and Volepaw as they wove their way through the crowd. She nosed two bundles of leaves towards them.

"Just lap them up. They're a little bitter, but they'll keep you from feeling hungry while you're away."

Cloudpaw bent down and lapped one of the leaves up. She couldn't help but wrinkle her nose. It had to be the worst thing she'd ever eaten! She glanced over at Volepaw. Her sister was having a very similar reaction. Cloudpaw sighed and lapped up the rest of the herbs as quickly as possible. She sat back on her haunches and swiped her tongue around her lips in a vain attempt to rid herself of the bitter taste.

Cloudpaw nearly jumped out of her fur when she felt something brush against her side. She whipped around and was met by her father's deep blue eyes.

Poolgaze purred. "It's only me. C'mon, everyone else is gathering by the camp entrance."

Cloudpaw and Volepaw followed him. Almost every cat in the Clan was crowded in one place. Maplepaw, Oakpaw, and Wolfpaw met them at the front of the group.

"Good luck you two!" Oakpaw mewed.

"Come back to us in one piece okay?" Maplepaw flicked Volepaw's ear with her tail.

"You'll be fine as long as you don't start anything you can't finish," Wolfpaw advised.

Volepaw smiled and thanked them. Cloudpaw could feel anxiety rolling off of her pelt in waves. This was their first real battle. They would be going against fully grown cats, rogues no less. She had every right to be scared.

"Volepaw, Cloudpaw."

Cloudpaw turned. Otterpelt stood behind them. Her blue eyes were filled with sorrow.

"Mother…" Volepaw mewed weakly.

"Please, just be careful out there," she murmured. She wrapped herself around the two as if they were kits. Cloudpaw buried her nose in Otterpelt's shoulder fur and breathed in her warm scent.

"We will."

Suddenly, she was surrounded by fur on both sides. She sniffed, purring softly when she realized that Poolgaze had pressed against Otterpelt, squishing Volepaw and her between them.

"They'll be fine as long as I'm around, Otterpelt."

"Okay… I believe you."

The two separated, and Cloudpaw shivered. She yearned for her mother's warm body to press against hers once more, but Poolgaze was already nudging her towards the camp entrance. She glanced over her shoulder, only catching a glimpse of Otterpelt's brown tail as she slithered into the warrior's den.

 _I'll come back, mother. I promise._

* * *

Snow fell gently, soaking the cats' pelts as they trudged onwards. The first snow had come the night before. White, fluffy snow completely covered the ground, its surface broken only by the travelling warriors' paws.

 _It couldn't have waited at least another day, huh?_

Cloudpaw sighed, her breath billowing in front of her. They had just taken a break by the river, each cat drinking their fill of nearly frozen water. Cloudpaw winced as she remembered the way the cold burned her throat and chilled her to the bone. She glanced over at Volepaw, who was so close to her that their pelts brushed. Not that she was complaining. The extra warmth was extremely welcome. Her sister was gazing towards the front of the party, where Ivystar, Adderstrike, and Sheepnose padded side-by-side.

"Hey," she whispered against her sister's ear. "You need to go talk to Adderstrike?"

Volepaw's ear twitched. "Y-yeah."

"Go ahead."

"Are you sure? I don't want to just-."

Cloudpaw purred. "Just go, silly little mouse-brain."

Volepaw narrowed her eyes in a mock glare before picking up her pace to catch up with her mentor. Cloudpaw felt another cat come up beside her. Stagheart gazed down at her with warm amber eyes.

"Are you nervous?" he inquired.

"A little bit, yeah."

The tom nodded. "Every apprentice is before their first battle. Everything will be just fine."

Cloudpaw sighed. "That's what everyone keeps telling us, but…"

"But what?"

"I… just can't help but feel like something's going to go wrong," she muttered.

Just as Stagheart opened his mouth to speak, he bumped into the cat in front of him.

"Hey-!"

"Wait," Cloudpaw hissed. "We're being stopped by a OneClan patrol!"


	11. Chapter 10

Volepaw stared at the cats in front of her with wide eyes. There was a she-cat and a tom. They were incredibly thin, but not at all underfed. The she-cat had long, red-and-white tabby fur and fierce yellow eyes. The tom who stood beside her was a dark brown tom with amber eyes. Despite the fact that they were clearly outnumbered, the two warriors gazed at the ShiningClan cats as if they intended to chase them out of their territory.

Ivystar dipped his head. "Vixenfur, Aldertree. It's great to see you two. It's been too long."

The tom, Aldertree, rolled his eyes. "What business do you and your Clan have in our territory, Ivystar?"

"You know of the rogue group in the mountains, correct?"

Vixenfur's eyes flashed. "You're going after them? You can't! They're-."

Adderstrike stepped in. "ShiningClan has faced way worse than a few rogues."

Vixenfur narrowed her eyes. "They're not just 'a few rogues'. They're absolutely ruthless. They can and will do anything to win."

"You can't stop us now, Vixenfur," Ivystar growled. "Not after we've come so far. We're going to attack their camp and drive them out of the forest once and for all."

Vixenfur opened her mouth to retort, but shut it quickly. "You're right. We may not be able to stop you," she mewed finally, "but we can help you."

Ivystar sighed. "Thank you, but we don't-."

"Ivystar, wait." Adderstrike stepped between him and the OneClan she-cat. "Vixenfur, how many able warriors can you provide us?"

Ivystar hissed. "Adderstrike-!"

"We have four warriors, two apprentices, and our medicine cat." She turned to Aldertree. "Go fetch everybody."

The tom nodded and bolted off. Snow sprayed up behind him as he ran.

"He'll be back in no time. For now, rest. You've come a long way, and you'll need your strength for the fight."

* * *

As Vixenfur had promised, Aldertree returned quickly. With him were a few cats. The first was Owlfoot, a silver tom with dark tabby stripes. He was rather quiet, so Volepaw couldn't quite get a read on him. Then there was Thornheart, a she-cat who looked as if she belonged in the elders' den. Her dark, spotted fur was matted and graying in places. Her yellow eyes seemed to be stuck in a permanent glare. Birchsong, the medicine cat, looked just as old. Unlike Thornheart, however, her brown eyes were sleepy, but kind. Her pale, dark-striped pelt was well-groomed and sleek.

Finally, there were the two apprentices, Vinepaw and Harepaw. Vinepaw, a tailless little she-cat, was white with gray patches. She almost seemed excited for the battle. She was constantly flexing her claws, leaving deep marks in the snow beneath her paws. Harepaw, a tan tabby tom with white paws, watched her carefully. His amber-brown eyes were brimming with concern. His tail-tip flicked back and forth, tossing up snow behind him.

Volepaw paced about. She had tried laying down to rest her tired paws, but the snow had soaked into her fur and chilled her to the bone. She glanced towards where Ivystar sat with Iceflower and Vixenfur. The three were scratching something in the snow. A plan perhaps? Volepaw let out a shuddering sigh.

 _Why does it have to be so cold?_

"Hey, Volepaw."

Volepaw blinked. Cloudpaw stood before her.

"Oh, what's up?"

"Adderstrike wants to see us."

"Ok, I'm comin'."

Adderstrike was standing towards the edge of the crowd of cats. With her were Vinepaw and Harepaw. All three cats looked up as Volepaw and Cloudpaw approached.

"You're all here," Adderstrike mewed. "We need to discuss battle strategies."

Vinepaw rolled her bright, green eyes. "What is there to discuss? We just gotta go in there and claw their ears 'till they run away shrieking."

Harepaw sighed. "You could at least try to listen once in a while, Vinepaw."

"Hey-."

"As I was saying," Adderstrike growled, "you four apprentices need to stick together. Don't lose sight of each other, and fight in pairs, at least. Got it?"

The apprentices all nodded, even Vinepaw, who Volepaw had expected to interrupt Adderstrike again.

"Good."


	12. Chapter 11

"Just remember your training, Volepaw. Use your size and strong hind legs to your advantage."

"O-ok, Adderstrike."

Cloudpaw ran her tail along Volepaw's spine reassuringly. "You'll be fine. Just stay close."

Her sister nodded. Her deep blue eyes scanned the rogue camp nervously. Cloudpaw sighed and pricked her ears in hopes of hearing the quiet whispers that were being exchanged between the warriors.

Aldertree's voice rose above all the rest. "How are we going to flush them out of their dens?"

"Cloverpelt is going to head to the opposite end of the camp," Ivystar replied. "She'll make some sort of noise to wake them all up. When somebody finds her, she'll yowl again and attack. After that, we'll all rush in."

Birchsong spoke. "Where do Sheepnose and I wait?"

Adderstrike answered. "Find a fern or something to hide in. Make sure it's somewhere the rogues won't see it, but somewhere we can find you easily."

Cloudpaw caught a flash of green in the corner of her vision. At the opposite end of the rogue camp, two green eyes glared back at her.

 _Cloverpelt._

"Hey. Cloudpaw, Volepaw."

Cloudpaw looked up. Vinepaw had crouched beside her, Harepaw on her other side.

Suddenly, a loud yowl split the air. Cats tensed all around. Every pair of eyes were fixed on the dens. Cloudpaw pressed herself lower against the ground. She barely suppressed a gasp when a head poked out of one of the dens. The cat slithered out of the den, its amber eyes narrowing as it looked around. A few more heads poked out of dens, each watching the cat carefully. The first cat, who looked like a tom, was slinking towards where Cloverpelt hid.

When he was about a fox-length away, another air-splitting yowl sounded as Cloverpelt leapt out at the tom. She bowled him over and sunk her teeth into his shoulder.

"We're being attacked!"

"Everyone wake up!"

Ivystar hissed. "Go!"

"Hey," Vinepaw whispered. "You see that long-haired tom over there?" She pointed to the cat in question with her nose. "Let's go for him. He looks kinda scrappy."

Before the other apprentices could reply, Vinepaw was tearing across the ground towards the rogue.

"Hurry," Harepaw hissed, "before she gets into any trouble."

Cloudpaw bolted after him, Volepaw at her side. Vinepaw was already clawing at the rogue's face. Harepaw crept behind him and bit down on his tail. The tom yowled in pain and fury and whipped around, but Harepaw and already dashed back to his front side. The rogue growled and turned back around, his amber gaze flicking between each of the four apprentices.

"Stupid Clanners," he hissed.

"It's four against one," Vinepaw taunted. "What're you going to do?"

He smirked. "Win."

With that, he leapt at Vinepaw, bowling her over and pinning her against the ground. She snarled and lunged at his neck. Cloudpaw's stomach lurched.

 _That's a killing blow._

Cloudpaw felt a sudden flash of pain course through her tail. She yowled and whirled around. A scarred, ginger tom stood behind her, his yellow-green eyes glittering with malice. Cloudpaw glared right back at him and swiped at his muzzle. He dodged and leapt at her, but was shoved aside when Volepaw charged into his side.

"Stay away from my sister!"

Volepaw raked her claws across his face when he turned around, and Cloudpaw took the opportunity to sink her teeth into his tail, just as he had done to her. He hissed and thrust his back paw into her face, knocking her away. Cloudpaw shook her head. Volepaw scampered over to her side.

"Let's attack him together," Volepaw whispered.

Volepaw aimed a swipe at the rogue's shoulder, and Cloudpaw aimed for his other one. They landed blow after blow on the tom's sides, backing him away from the center of the battle. Cloudpaw glanced past the rogue. They were headed right for a steep decline that lead into a rocky ditch.

 _If we can just get him a little bit closer..._

"Persistent apprentices!" the rogue snarled. He grasped Volepaw by the scruff and tossed her aside like a piece of prey. He turned on Cloudpaw and whacked her upside the head with a powerful forepaw. Cloudpaw grunted. Suddenly, she was being pressed against the cold, hard ground. He had her pinned!

"You Clan cats have caused me nothing but pain," he spat. "Now, it's time for _me_ to cause to cause _you_ pain!"

Cloudpaw wriggled in a vain attempt to escape. The tom had lifted his forepaws and pressed them against her head. She felt claws dig into her flesh. She failed to choke back her wail of pain as he slowly, deliberately dragged his claws down her face and across her eyes.

* * *

"Cloudpaw!"

Volepaw charged at the rogue. She leapt and latched onto his strong shoulder, digging her claws and teeth into his flesh. He growled and tossed her away as if she were nothing but a mere annoyance. He backed away from Cloudpaw and made his way towards where Volepaw lay.

"You're next."

"Get away from those apprentices, you good for nothing weasel-heart!"

A flash of red-and-white fur knocked the rogue away. He shrieked as he rolled down into the nearby ditch. Volepaw heard a sickening thud as he hit the bottom.

"Volepaw. Volepaw!"

Volepaw looked up. Vixenfur stood above her. The she-cat grabbed her by the scruff and lifted her to her paws.

"I'll take care of him," she mewed urgently. "Get your sister to Sheepnose and Birchsong, quickly. They're hidden by a little shrub just that way." She pointed with her nose. "May StarClan be with you two…"

With that, the OneClan warrior climbed down into the ditch after the rogue tom. Volepaw rushed over to where Cloudpaw lay. Her sister's face was just about covered in blood. Her breath was coming in loud, uneven gasps. Volepaw knew she could never carry her all the way to wherever the medicine cats were.

"Help!" she wailed. "Anybody, please! Cloudpaw's hurt!"

"Volepaw!"

Volepaw turned. Poolgaze was bounding towards her. His blue eyes were stretched wide. He took one look at Cloudpaw, and his eyes grew deadly serious.

"Come on," he growled. "Help me get her onto my back."

He crouched and Volepaw grasped her sister's scruff and heaved her front half onto Poolgaze's back. Her father grabbed at her lower body and pulled her whole body up. He stood and padded away from the battle. Volepaw scampered after him. She couldn't tear her gaze away from Cloudpaw's mauled, bloodied face.

 _I'm so sorry. I couldn't get to you in time. This is all my fault._


	13. Chapter 12

_Pain._

 _Terrible, excruciating pain._

 _Voices._

 _Hushed, worried voices._

 _Fatigue._

 _Extreme, overwhelming fatigue._

* * *

"She'll be ok, right? She can get back to training once she's all healed up?"

 _Bluewing… I sure hope so. I already miss the forest._

"Has she woken up at all?"

 _Maplepaw… No, but I really want to. Your smiling face is just what I need to see right now._

"When I find the mangy fox-heart who did this to her…"

 _Wolfpaw… I think Vixenfur took care of him. I'm sure you could've beat him, though._

"I feel terrible… I should've been there…"

 _Oakpaw… You couldn't help it. Cheer up!_

"My little kit… My precious daughter…"

 _Otterpelt… I'll be fine! I promised I would be!_

"It's my fault, Otterpelt. I broke my promise to you."

 _Poolgaze… This isn't your fault at all. You'd shred my ears if you caught me saying something like that!_

"I'm so sorry, Cloudpaw. I wasn't strong enough to protect you."

 _Volepaw… no..._

* * *

 _"Ow..."_

 _"Oh, you're awake."_

 _"Sheepnose? Is that you?"_

 _"Mhmm. How are you feeling?"_

 _"Ugh... My whole face hurts."_

 _"That sounds about right."_

 _"...Hey, uh, what's this covering my eyes?"_

 _"Moss. Don't touch it."  
_

 _"Why not?"_

 _"Your eyes were... badly damaged. Exposure to light could only make them worse."_

 _"O-oh..."_

 _"Get a bit more rest, okay? I'll wake you when it's dark enough to examine your eyes."_

* * *

 _"Oh, you're awake! I'm so glad! How're you feeling? You must be hungry. I can go and get you something-."_

 _"Volepaw, don't overwhelm her. She's still in a bit of shock."_

 _"Sorry, Sheepnose."_

 _"I'm... fine, Volepaw."_

 _"...Oh, okay. I'll... leave now. Um, I ...hope you feel better..."_

* * *

 _"I can't see a thing, Sheepnose."_

 _"Just as I suspected..."_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Ah, nothing. Your sight may return with time. We'll check again tomorrow night."_

 _"...It may return?"_

* * *

 _"My precious kit..."_

 _"Mother, I'm fine."_

 _"..."_

 _"I swear."_

 _"...Ha. My strong little warrior..."_

* * *

 _"You still can't see at all?"_

 _"No…"_

 _"Cloudpaw…"_

 _"Just accept it, Sheepnose. My sight's never coming back..."_

 _"You… I'm so sorry, Cloudpaw."_

* * *

 _"Wolfpaw? What's up?"_

 _"How are you feeling?"_

 _"Never heard that one before."_

 _"I take it you're getting better, then?"_

 _"Define 'better'."_

 _"Well, you're back to your old self. Sarcasm and all."_

 _"I guess so."_

 _"..."_

 _"..."_

 _"Hey, um... Do you... remember what the cat who attacked you looked like? Volepaw keeps saying that some OneClan warrior took care of him, but..."_

 _"Uh, yeah... He was a ginger tabby, and... Agh, I'm sorry, Wolfpaw. I just... don't really wanna think about it."_

 _"Oh... sorry. I'll just... leave."_

 _"W-wait!"_

 _"Hm?"_

 _"Don't go... I..."_

 _"What?"_

 _"It's just that... this is the longest I've been able to keep anyone in here with me, and-."_

 _"Ha... Don't worry, Cloudpaw. I'm not going anywhere."_

 _"Th-thanks Wolfpaw."_

* * *

 _"Ivystar? What are you doing here?"_

 _"Just checking in on you."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"…I need to tell you something, Cloudpaw."_

 _"Only if you answer this question I have."_

 _"…"_

 _"What happened to Gray? He's the leader of the rogues, right? I've heard the warriors whispering about him, but I can never seem to catch a complete thought about him."_

 _"…I killed him. The rogues all ran off after they found out he was dead. They won't be back."_

 _"Okay. Good. Now, what is it you were going to say?"_

 _"…Cloudpaw, I'm sorry, but... you can never be a warrior. Now that you're blind, there's no way you can continue your training."_

 _"I… I know. I kinda assumed as much..."_

 _"…"_

 _"…"_

 _"So, what will you do?"_


	14. Chapter 13

_You can never be a warrior._

Cloudpaw opened her eyes to nothing.

She was still blind.

She was still confined to the medicine den for the most part.

She was still _useless._

She sat up with a sigh and began grooming herself.

 _You'll never get anywhere by thinking like that._

"Good morning, Cloudpaw. Would you mind taking this catmint to Mousetail?"

"Not at all, Sheepnose," Cloudpaw replied with a yawn. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's come down with whitecough." Cloudpaw heard her come closer and drop something at her paws. "Hopefully StarClan doesn't take her from us too soon. She's such a sweet cat..."

"I'm on it. Hey, do you want me to bring you back some fresh-kill if there's anything on the pile?"

"No no, that's fine, Cloudpaw. I can wait."

"Mkay."

Cloudpaw leaned down to grasp the little bundle of leaves in her jaws and headed out of the den and into camp. She had adapted to her blindness fairly quickly, and was now able to navigate camp without somebody to guide her.

"Hey, Cloudpaw! Whatcha up to?"

Cloudpaw immediately recognized Maplepaw's chipper voice.

"Oh, wait! Your mouth is full. Sorry! I'll just have to come with you and find out."

Cloudpaw nodded, acknowledging her friend's presence. The two walked side-by-side to the elders' den. Cloudpaw swore that just being around Maplepaw could make any cat feel light as a feather.

As they ducked into the den, Cloudpaw heard three bodies shift in their nests, and guessed that the elders were all looking at her. She dropped the bundle of herbs in front of Mousetail's nest.

"Sheepnose wanted you to eat these."

"Oh, thank you, Cloudp-." The she-cat was interrupted by a violent coughing fit.

Cloudpaw heard Emberpad sigh. "That sounds an awful lot like greencough to me."

"Is Sheepnose sure that it's just whitecough?" Rocktail inquired.

"That's what she told me," Cloudpaw replied.

"Thank you for bringing those, Cloudpaw," Emberpad mewed. "She definitely needed them."

Cloudpaw dipped her head and left the den behind Maplepaw. She felt a little surge of pride as she realized that she wasn't that useless. She could still help her Clan with her… injury, just not in the way she had originally planned.

Maplepaw purred. "You look happy about something."

Cloudpaw couldn't help but smile. "Oh, it's nothing. I just have an idea."

* * *

"Hey, Sheepnose?"

"What is it, Cloudpaw?"

It had been one day since Cloudpaw had come up with this idea. She had thought about it over and over and over again. Finally, she had made her decision.

"I want to be your apprentice, Sheepnose."

Cloudpaw heard her stop whatever she was doing.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? Just sitting around all day with the elders sounds nice and all, but I want to be able to help my Clan in whatever way I can, even if it means going from being a warrior to a medicine cat."

"Alright. We can tell Ivystar and he'll announce it to the rest of the Clan. Then, you can come with me to the Crystal Pool next half-moon."

"Great, but, there's one more thing…"

* * *

"Sheepnose? I'm here."

"Thank you for coming, Ivystar. Cloudpaw has a… request."

"Okay, what is it?"

Cloudpaw shuffled her paws. She still wasn't used to speaking to ShiningClan's leader so… openly like this.

"Well, um, I'd like to train under Sheepnose as a medicine apprentice."

"Very well, I'll announce it at-."

"O-one more thing, Ivystar."

"Hm? What is it?"

Cloudpaw hesitated. Did she really want to do this?

 _Of course you do, mouse-brain! You've been preparing for this for a whole day!_

"I… I want to change my name."

* * *

"From now on, Cloudpaw will train under Sheepnose as a medicine apprentice. Along with this change, she will be known as Fallenpaw until she receives her full medicine cat name."

Fallenpaw self-conciously wrapped her tail around her back paws. She could _feel_ the whole Clan staring at her.

 _Hold your head high. There's nothing to be afraid of._

"Fallenpaw!"

Fallenpaw smiled.

 _Volepaw… and now Wolfpaw, and Maplepaw, and Oakpaw…_

Soon, the whole Clan was cheering her new name.

Ivystar waited for the chatter to die down before dismissing the meeting. Fallenpaw carefully climbed down from the Meeting Rock, making sure she didn't trip up in front of the Clan. She could already hear them laughing. She shook her head, dispelling the thought, before trotting over to where she knew Sheepnose stood.

The she-cat met her halfway, pressing her nose against Fallenpaw's with a joyful purr.

"You'll do great things for ShiningClan, Fallenpaw. I just know it."

"Thanks, Sheepnose."

"Hey, Fallenpaw."

Fallenpaw didn't have to be able to see to know who stood behind her. She turned slowly.

"Bluewing… I-."

"Don't. I'm proud of you, Fallenpaw. I just wanted you to know that I'll be with you every step of the way… no matter where you go. Okay?"

Fallenpaw smiled sadly and brushed her nose against Bluewing's shoulder. "Thanks for everything, Bluewing. You're the best mentor I could've asked for."

Bluewing rested her head on top of Fallenpaw's. "And you're the best apprentice I could've asked for." They separated, and Bluewing gently flicked Fallenpaw's ear with her tail as she turned. "Take care of her for me, Sheepnose."

"I will."

Fallenpaw listened to Bluewing's pawsteps as they got farther and farther away. She turned to Sheepnose.

"So, when do we start training? And, um, how exactly _do_ medicine cats train?"

Sheepnose chuckled. "C'mon. Let's start with something simple."


	15. Chapter 14

"Volepaw?"

Volepaw looked up from the mouse she had been absentmindedly poking at. Adderstrike stood above her, gazing down with warm, amber eyes.

"You want to go out for a little bit? Prey's not running that great seeing as it's the middle of leaf-bare and all, but it wouldn't hurt to try, right?"

Volepaw got to her paws. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"Are you going to eat that?"

"No… I'm not really that hungry. Do you want it?"

"No, I'm sure Iceflower would appreciate it though. You should go and take it to her. I'll wait by the camp's entrance."

"Okay!"

Iceflower and Dewleaf were now expecting their second litter of kits, their first having consisted of Sheepnose and another kit who died very soon after birth according to Adderstrike. Volepaw let the warm, milky scent of the nursery wash over her as she entered. Inside, Dewleaf and Iceflower sat together. She dropped the mouse in front of them.

"Adderstrike thought you might be hungry, Iceflower."

"Oh, be sure to thank her for me!"

"I will."

Volepaw dipped her head and turned to exit the nursery. With one last whiff of the sweet scent of the den, she headed towards where Adderstrike waited for her.

* * *

"Hey, I want to show you something, Volepaw. It's a bit out of the way, but I know you'll just love it."

"Mkay…"

Adderstrike tilted her head. "Volepaw, are you okay?"

Volepaw looked away. In all honesty, she was still worried about Fallenpaw. She seemed to be adjusting to her new life fairly well, but Volepaw couldn't help it.

"You're thinking about Fallenpaw, aren't you?"

Volepaw sighed. "Was it really that obvious?"

Adderstrike smiled. "Yeah. Y'know, Eelfin, was my mentor when I was an apprentice. He said I was the same way when my sisters left ShiningClan."

"Hm." It made sense to Volepaw that Eelfin mentored Adderstrike. That must be the reason she was so tough now. "Hey, you've never really told me much about your sisters, and it seems like we have a bit of a journey ahead of us…"

"Alright, well," Adderstrike began, "when my sisters and I were kits, we were closer than anything. Pigeonheart and I would get picked on by the apprentices quite often, her for her blindness and I for my size. Badgerpaw was always there for us when it happened. Everything stayed that way until we were apprenticed…"

A faraway look crossed Adderstrike's face. "Pigeonheart knew that she couldn't become a warrior, so she was set on becoming a medicine cat. There was one problem with that, though. Our medicine cat already had an apprentice. That apprentice was Goldenhawk, Sheepnose's mentor. So… she left for DuskClan. Badgerpaw went looking for her soon after. Neither of them ever came back. As you know, Pigeonheart went on to become DuskClan's medicine cat, and Badgerpaw…"

Volepaw cast a sideways glance at her mentor. "...What?"

"…I haven't seen Badgerpaw since she left. She obviously hasn't joined one of the other Clans or I would've seen her at a Gathering or something. I've always just assumed that she's still looking for Pigeonheart." The she-cat gave a bitter laugh. "I just hope that she's not all alone and that she's found a decent loner to keep her company."

"I'm… I'm sorry, Adderstrike."

"No, don't be. It's just… how it is." The she-cat stopped and tasted the air. "We're nearly there. Let's go."

With that, she broke into a run. Volepaw bounded after her, trying with all of her might to keep up. The deep snow wasn't making the task any easier.

Volepaw nearly stumbled and fell face-first into the snow when Adderstrike stopped. Volepaw looked around as she gasped for breath.

They stood in a small clearing. In the center was a frozen pool of water. A willow tree grew beside the pool, and some of its branches drooped into it and were now trapped beneath the icy surface.

"It looks much nicer in new-leaf. All kinds of flowers grow around here," Adderstrike mewed.

Volepaw looked around the clearing, her eyes wide. "How'd you find this place?"

"Ivystar, Roselight, and I found it when we were apprentices," Adderstrike answered, pride edging her voice. "We tried to keep it a secret for a while, but then we realized that it would be a waste if the Clan didn't know about it."

"Is it a part of our territory?" Volepaw asked, padding to the pool's edge.

"Yup. No one really comes out this far, though. It's a shame, really. Prey is always so plentiful here. Well, except during leaf-bare of course."

"Do you come here often?"

"Yeah. Anytime I need to be alone, I come here. And if I need an excuse for being away, I catch something before I leave."

"Is that why you brought me here?"

Adderstrike sighed. "Volepaw, you haven't exactly had the easiest life so far, and I know that it won't get any easier. You'll need a place to hide away from the world every once in a while, and this place is perfect for doing just that. I know that better than anyone."

Volepaw gazed at her reflection in the ice. "Thank you, Adderstrike. It's wonderful."

"Shall we head back, then? We might be able to find some sort of prey on the way."

Volepaw barely heard her mentor. Her attention was fixed on a rabbit that was digging in the snow on the other side of the frozen pool. She dropped into the hunter's crouch and crept towards it. She was mindful not to let the snow crunch under her paws too loudly. As she got closer, the rabbit's head snapped up and turned towards her.

 _Fox-dung!_ She had forgotten to stay downwind of it.

Volepaw launched herself at it one heartbeat too late. Her forepaws slammed into nothing but fluffy snow. She wasn't going to give up that easily. She tore off after the rabbit. When she got close enough, she pounced and pinned it to the ground. It struggled to break free, but its attempts were in vain. Volepaw killed it with a swift bite to the neck.

"Well done, Volepaw!" Volepaw turned around. Adderstrike had trotted up behind her. "That's gonna be the biggest meal the Clan gets all leaf-bare!"

Volepaw felt her ears heat up. "Ah, it wasn't _that_ great of a catch. I should've been more careful while I was stalking."

Adderstrike grinned. "You caught it in the end, and that's what matters. Now, let's get that back to camp."

Volepaw picked up her catch and bounded after Adderstrike, who had already started padding away. As she fell into step with her mentor, she couldn't help but smile around her mouthful of fur. She thought back to when Maplepaw taught her, Fallenpaw, and Oakpaw how to hunt when they were still kits.

 _"You'll be the best hunter in all of ShiningClan someday, Volekit!"_

Adderstrike purred. "What're you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just thinking."


	16. Chapter 15

"I, Ivystar, leader of ShiningClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors. Wolfpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Wolfpaw, from this moment you will be known as Wolfstep. StarClan honors your bravery and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShiningClan. And you, Maplepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Maplepaw, from this moment you will be known as Maplewind. StarClan honors your kindness and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShiningClan."

"Wolfstep! Maplewind!"

Volepaw cheered her denmates' new names. The two had passed their assessments the other day. Roselight and Buzzardflight had asked her to help out during the battle segment. She was still a bit sore from the beating they gave her.

"Hey," Fallenpaw whispered from beside her. "What do they look like up on the Meeting Rock?"

Volepaw glanced up at the two newly named warriors. "Wolfstep's making this stupidly proud face like he's just been named Clan deputy."

Her sister snorted. "Sounds about right. And Maplewind?"

"She's smiling, but she looks a little embarrassed. Probably just all of the attention."

Fallenpaw sighed. "I know that feeling."

"Hey." Volepaw rested her tail over Fallenpaw's. "The Clan respects your decision. They do now, and they did then. They were just… surprised is all."

That didn't seem to convince her sister at all.

"How about we share some fresh-kill? It feels like we haven't been alone together in moons."

Fallenpaw smiled. "Okay. Sounds good."

Volepaw stood up and stretched. "Oh! We should go and congratulate Wolfstep and Maplewind first!"

"Alright, lead the way, sister."

Volepaw craned her neck to see above the crowd. She caught sight of Wolfstep and Maplewind hanging around the elder's den with Emberpad and Rocktail, their parents. Well, in Wolfstep's case, his foster parents. The tortoiseshell she-cat was weaving around Wolfstep, brushing their pelts together. Rocktail was ruffling the fur between Maplewind's ear with one of his forepaws. All four of them were grinning, whiskers twitching.

"They're this way." She started towards them, Fallenpaw on her tail.

Maplewind turned around as they approached. Her yellow-green eyes gleamed with joy.

"Hey, you two!"

Volepaw grinned. "Congratulations! You two deserve it."

Wolfstep rolled his eyes. "You guys will have your full names in no time."

Fallenpaw's ear twitched. "I dunno. I have a lot to catch up on since I started later than most medicine apprentices. Oakpaw may even get his warrior name before I get mine."

Volepaw playfully flicked her with her tail. "Oh, c'mon Fallenpaw. You're super smart. You'll be done with training before you know it!" She turned back to Wolfstep and Maplewind. "I'll miss having you two in the den."

Maplewind smiled. "We'll miss you too, Volepaw."

Wolfstep snorted. "You two make it sound like you'll never share a den again. Like I said, you'll be with us in the warriors' den in no time, Volepaw."

Maplewind nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, and with the way you hunt, you may not even need to take an assessment."

"Hey! Wolfstep, Maplewind!"

Volepaw turned around. Sunstorm stood behind them.

"You two want to come with Amberclaw and I on a border patrol?"

Maplewind nodded. "See you later!"

Volepaw nodded and watched as she and Wolfstep followed the two toms out of camp. Her eyes lingered on the camp entrance even after Maplewind's bushy tail disappeared through it.

Fallenpaw's tail twitched. "Well, how about that fresh-kill we discussed?"

"Right. Let's go."

* * *

"So, Fallenpaw, how's your training going.?"

Volepaw and Fallenpaw lay at the edge of camp, a scrawny little blackbird laying between them. They took turns taking bites of the fresh-kill. Its flesh was a bit tough, and it was almost entirely sinew, but it was better than going hungry.

"Pretty good," Fallenpaw replied after swallowing a bite. "I'm learning a lot from Sheepnose. She's a great mentor. How about you?"

"Amazing. Adderstrike showed me this really cool place at the edge of our territory that's great for hunting. That's where I caught that rabbit a while back. It's this little clearing with a pool and a willow tree in the center. Words don't really do it justice. Adderstrike says that lots of useful herbs grow there in new-leaf. I bet Sheepnose will take you there once all of the snow melts."

"Cool. Oh, and speaking of that rabbit, the elders really enjoyed it. They told me to thank you for it when I brought Mousetail herbs for her cough."

"How's she doing, by the way?"

"Mousetail? She's getting better, I think. The catmint definitely helped a ton, and no one else seems to have caught it."

"That's great."

"Yeah," Fallenpaw mewed, standing up. "Well, Sheepnose probably wants me back in the den."

Volepaw looked up at her. "Okay. See you later?"

"Probably."

Fallenpaw turned and padded towards the medicine den. Volepaw smiled when she saw how her sister moved around as if her blindness didn't affect her.

 _I really shouldn't be worrying about her as much as I have been. She's doing just fine!_

Volepaw sighed and got to her paws. She looked around camp for Adderstrike. The she-cat was sitting with Bluewing near the warriors' den. Volepaw started towards them.

Bluewing noticed her first. "Volepaw, what's up?"

"Hi, Bluewing." Volepaw turned to her mentor, who had looked up when Bluewing greeted her. "Adderstrike, are we going out at all today?"

"I don't think so," she answered. "I heard you took quite the beating during Maplewind and Wolfstep's assessment yesterday. I think you should just take it easy for today."

Volepaw had no qualms with that, but she didn't want anyone else to know that. "I'm fine. Can't we at least go hunting?"

Bluewing chimed in. "I can go with her if you like, Adderstrike."

"No, that's okay. She needs her rest, even if she thinks otherwise."

Volepaw just barely bit back a loud yawn. "Alright. We'll go out tomorrow, though, right?"

Adderstrike chuckled. "If you want to, Volepaw."

"Okay. Thank you!"

Volepaw turned and padded across camp to the apprentices' den. She ducked inside and curled up in her nest, resting her tail over her nose. She purred contentedly and let dreams of chasing mice in lush, green forests take over her mind.


	17. Chapter 16

Volepaw awoke with a yawn and blinked against the orange light that filtered through the leafy roof of the den. A quick glance outside told her that it was sundown. Cats were exchanging goodnights and ducking into their dens for the night. Maplewind and Wolfstep were heading towards the camp entrance for their silent vigil. Volepaw silently wished them luck.

"Um, Volepaw?"

She blinked and looked to the source of the voice.

Oakpaw stood in front of her. "You're standing in the entrance to the den."

"Ah, sorry!"

She backed into the den and laid down in her nest again. Oakpaw did the same. Volepaw tilted her head. He seemed… troubled about something.

"Something wrong, Oakpaw?"

Oakpaw looked up her. He considered the question for a moment before sighing.

"Just feeling insecure about my fighting again..."

"What're you talking about? I've sparred against you during training, and you did just fine!"

Oakpaw looked away, electing to stare down at his paws instead of at her. "But 'just fine' won't be good enough for the battles ahead. I don't want to bring down the rest of the Clan because I can't handle a fight."

Volepaw sighed. "I'm sorry, Fallenpaw is so much better at this kind of stuff."

Oakpaw rolled over in his nest so that he was facing away from her. "It's okay, Volepaw. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Oakpaw."

Volepaw stared at Oakpaw's back, watching as his chest rose and fell rhythmically.

 _You need to come up with some way to help him out. Think, Volepaw, think!_

 _…_

 _What would Fallenpaw do?_

* * *

"Fallenpaw?"

As Volepaw entered the medicine den, still a bit sleepy from her fitful slumber, her sister looked up from a pile of herbs. Her nose twitched, as if she was trying to identify her by scent alone.

"Volepaw, what brings you here? You're not sick or anything are you?"

Volepaw sighed. "No. Oakpaw's feeling down again, and I wanted to know what you would do to cheer him up."

Fallenpaw turned to her sister and sat, curling her tail around her paws. She thought for a moment before speaking.

"Well since just talking about it doesn't seem to be doing anything, you should take action instead."

Volepaw tilted her head. "Meaning…?"

Fallenpaw turned back to her herbs. "Help him out with his training. Act as like… a second mentor to him."

"And how do I do that, exactly? I just feel like that might offend Stagheart or something."

Fallenpaw shrugged. "He doesn't have to know about it."

Volepaw groaned. "Could you maybe explain your statements _without_ me asking first?"

"Just do it at night. You and Oakpaw are the only ones in the den, and by the time Iceflower's future kits are apprenticed, you two will have been warriors for moons. So, no one will notice that you two are gone. All you have to do is sneak out of camp, and make sure you're not seen."

"We can't just stay up all night! We have duties during the day, too."

"Then don't stay out all night," Fallenpaw said simply. "Train for about half the night, come back, and sleep." When Volepaw didn't reply, Fallenpaw continued. "Just try it tonight, okay? If neither of you like it, or it doesn't work or something, you don't have to do it ever again. I think it would be good for both of you. I can show you a place that you can use to train. Bluewing used to take me there for one-on-one battle training."

"Alright." Volepaw turned to exit the den. "Thanks, Fallenpaw."

"Anytime," Fallenpaw called after her.

* * *

"Fallenpaw, are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am, Oakpaw! Hey, I think we're almost there."

Night had fallen, and the forest was completely dark except for the pure white snow that covered the ground. The three apprentices crunched through it, their paws wet and cold. Volepaw had to give Fallenpaw a guiding nudge every now and then in order to keep her from tripping or running into something. Oakpaw walked apart from the two she-cats, his green eyes flicking about anxiously. Volepaw had to admit, she was a bit nervous, too, but she knew she couldn't let him know that.

Fallenpaw stopped to taste the air. Volepaw and Oakpaw watched her expectantly.

"Should be just a bit further…"

She trotted ahead of the two, her tail waving happily in the air. Volepaw watched her carefully.

Oakpaw voiced her thoughts just then. "We should probably catch up with her before-."

"Found it!"

Oakpaw and Volepaw exchanged a look before bounding towards where Fallenpaw stood. The she-cat was circling around, sniffing at the air as if she were trying to memorize every scent that made up the place. Volepaw tore her attention away from her sister to examine her surroundings. They stood in an incredibly small clearing. A tree stump sat in the center. Volepaw guessed that there had once been a huge tree here, but it had been cut down some time ago. Without the branches blocking the light, the area became a clearing.

Fallenpaw had climbed on top of the stump, sweeping a thin sheet of snow off of the surface with her tail. She sat and curled her tail around her paws. "So? Why don't I hear you two fighting? Let's go! Go at each other with all of your strength!"

Volepaw turned to Oakpaw and took up a defensive stance.

"You heard her, Oakpaw. Show me what you got!"

* * *

"…What does it look like, Volepaw? Is it just like Bluewing said?"

Volepaw gazed out over the land below her. They were pretty close by, so the three apprentices had decided to visit the cliffs that Bluewing and Adderstrike took her and Fallenpaw to on their first day of training. Volepaw tried desperately to remember Bluewing's exact words when she described the way the land below looked during leaf-bare.

 _During the day, the snow shines brighter than the stars. At sunset, everything is so orange and peaceful looking. And at night… At night it looks like Silverpelt itself has come down to the earth._

"It looks just like how Bluewing described it," Volepaw breathed.

The trees below were barren, just like every other tree in the forest. The river that cut through them was frozen over. Moonlight reflected off of the icy surface and the snow that blanketed the ground, making it look as if stars were scattered across the ground, each on shining as bright as the sun in green-leaf.

"Just like Silverpelt…"

Fallenpaw shut her scarred eyes and inhaled deeply. She froze for a few heartbeats, the only movement coming from her twitching whiskers, and then let her breath out in a sigh. Volepaw wrapped her tail around her sister's reassuringly. Oakpaw did the same.

Fallenpaw smiled, but when she spoke, her voice shook.

"Thank you, Oakpaw and Volepaw… for everything. Let's go home now."


	18. Chapter 17

"Alright, Fallenpaw, what are juniper berries used for?"

"They can be eaten to soothe bellyaches or help cats who are having trouble breathing."

"What about burdock?"

"Infected rat bites. The roots are chewed into a poultice and smeared into the wound. Try something a bit harder, Sheepnose."

"Name three travelling herbs."

"Chamomile, daisy leaves, and burnet."

"Wonderfully done, Fallenpaw!" Sheepnose couldn't keep a purr out of her mew. "Your training is coming along very well. You'll be finished in no time."

Fallenpaw felt her ears warm up in embarrassment. While it was true that she was getting through training faster than any other medicine apprentice had done previously, she didn't really think that she had earned that much praise.

"…knew that you'd make a great medicine cat."

Fallenpaw snapped back into reality. Had Sheepnose been talking to her?

"Er, what was that, Sheepnose? I blanked out for a moment there, sorry."

Sheepnose purred again. "That's quite alright, Fallenpaw. I was just saying that I'd always known that you'd make a great medicine-."

Fallenpaw interrupted. "Always? What's that supposed to mean?"

The shuffling that came from Sheepnose organizing herbs stopped abruptly, but resumed shortly after.

"I've never explained how medicine apprentices are chosen, have I? Well, it's never too late. Come help me organize these while we talk." Fallenpaw padded towards where her mentor sat. The she-cat continued speaking before she had even sat down. "In a way, StarClan chooses which cats will go on to become medicine cats before they're even born. A medicine cat will be able to tell who will be their apprentice from the moment that they're born - the apprentice, that is."

Fallenpaw tucked a pile of herbs into an alcove in the den's wall. "How come StarClan has to choose? Can't any cat train as a medicine cat if they want to?"

Sheepnose sighed. "I don't know. Only StarClan has all of the answers, but every medicine cat has the power to communicate with StarClan like no other cat can. I assume that that's why they choose cats."

Fallenpaw thought for a moment before speaking. "Hey, Sheepnose?" When the she-cat stopped moving, she continued. "When I was a kit, I had this… dream. I saw you talking to…"

"Goldenhawk," Sheepnose finished for her. She sighed. "You were there when we were discussing the prophecy?"

Fallenpaw nodded. "Yeah, I heard you two saying that Volepaw, Oakpaw, and I were a part of it, but… I don't exactly know what _it_ is."

Sheepnose went quiet.

"Can you… tell me what the prophecy said?"

Silence, and then…

" _… When the storm rages, shining ice will harden every heart. Then, the three will come, and with them, the rising sun._ "

Fallenpaw considered her words. "So, you think 'the three' might be us?"

"It's just a theory," Sheepnose explained, beginning to organize herbs again. "Goldenhawk believed that it was Adderstrike and her sisters when she first heard it. We could be completely wrong again, though."

"Who says that it still can't be them?"

"Like I said before, Fallenpaw, only StarClan has all of the answers," Sheepnose murmured. "And they're not very willing to impart some of those answers to us."

Fallenpaw went back to organizing herbs. It was clear to her that Sheepnose didn't have anything more to say on the matter. Still, she couldn't help but wonder who those three cats could be, or if they were even cats. Maybe the prophecy referred to the three Clans, or-.

"Fallenpaw?"

Fallenpaw flicked one ear, signaling that she was listening.

"You have to promise me that you won't tell _anyone_ about the prophecy, okay?"

Fallenpaw tilted her head. "Why…?"

"This prophecy has been passed down from ShiningClan's very first medicine cat, and none of them ever shared it with anyone else," Sheepnose said grimly. "You mustn't tell anyone, Fallenpaw. Not even Ivystar or Adderstrike."

Fallenpaw swallowed nervously and nodded. "Okay."

Sheepnose exhaled loudly. "Thank you. Now, what's the best remedy for aching joints?"

* * *

 _When the storm begins, shining ice will pierce every heart. Then, the three will come, and with them, the rising sun._

Fallenpaw rolled over in her nest, growling quietly. The prophecy would not leave her alone, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. She huffed and buried her nose under her paws. Much to her delight, she felt sleep take over almost immediately.

 _Three will come…_

* * *

 **((A/N)) Hello readers~! This is the last chapter that I have for this fic that's finished and stored. I'm also facing a bit of writer's block at the moment. Like, I know exactly what I want to happen from here to the end of the fic ((which is approaching fairly quickly, actually)) but at the same time I don't? Anyways, chapters will be coming a bit slower than usual from here on out. Thank you for your patience!**

 **~Kestrel**


	19. Chapter 18

"That was great, Oakpaw."

"Thanks, but, I still feel like I could do better. Can we try again?"

Volepaw's breath was coming in short gasps. She glanced up at Oakpaw. His green eyes glittered with determination, and he didn't seem to be affected by the short skirmish that they had just finished. She looked towards the sky. It had to be about the middle of the night by now. This was usually when they headed home.

"I don't know, Oakpaw," Volepaw rasped, still out of breath. "It's getting late."

"Come on, Volepaw," Oakpaw practically whined. "Just one more time, please?"

Volepaw sighed. "Alright, but we're heading home after this. No objections."

Oakpaw nodded. "Got it."

Volepaw crouched and narrowed her eyes. She leapt at Oakpaw, paws outstretched. When she was nearly on top of him, the tom reared up and wrapped his forelegs around her. He twisted and brought her to the ground. Volepaw felt the wind get knocked right out of her as she hit the earth. When she snapped out of her daze, Oakpaw stood above her, one paw on either side of her head. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

"Perfect," Volepaw gasped.

Oakpaw grinned and backed away. Volepaw scrambled to her paws and fluffed out her fur.

Oakpaw's fighting skills had improved significantly since their nighttime training sessions began. He seemed to think so, too. His confidence had gained a huge boost, and everyone could see it. Volepaw was glad for her denmate. He'd been so much happier as of late. Even now, she could see how proud of himself he was in the way that he puffed out his chest as he groomed his pelt. His green eyes met her blues, and she quickly looked away. Oakpaw purred and scooted closer to her.

"Hey, you've got a leaf riiiiight," he extended a paw towards her shoulder, "there."

When he pulled his paw back, a singular leaf was hooked on his claw. He shook it off and it fluttered to the ground.

"Thanks. I coulda gotten that myself, though."

"Really? Because you didn't even know it was there."

"Oh, shut up."

"Make me."

Volepaw smirked and gently cuffed him over the ear. He made a surprised little noise before swatting back. Pretty soon, they were engaged in a battle of paws. They purred and pranced about as if they were kits again. For the first time in a while, Volepaw felt perfectly content. All of her worries seemed to melt away as she chased after Oakpaw.

"What are you two doing out this late?"

Oakpaw gasped in surprise and stumbled. Volepaw failed to stop in time and tripped over him. The two looked up to find who had spoken and were met with bright amber eyes.

"A-Adderstrike," Volepaw managed to stammer. "Listen, I can explain."

The she-cat nodded, urging her to continue. She seemed incredibly unimpressed.

"Well, um, you see," she started, getting to her paws in the process. "Oakpaw and I…" She turned back to look at the tom in question. He was just now standing up. He met her gaze and gave a barely perceptible nod. "We've been… sneaking out at night for a while now. Oakpaw wasn't very confident in his fighting abilities, so Fallenpaw suggested that I give him extra training. He's gotten a lot better-."

"I noticed," Adderstrike said. "I wondered where that extra confidence came from. You've done well mentoring him, Volepaw." Volepaw tore her gaze away from Adderstrike and shuffled her paws awkwardly. "Come along. We're going back to camp."

Oakpaw cleared his throat. "You aren't going to tell anyone, right, Adderstrike?"

Adderstrike hummed in thought. "Well, it doesn't seem to be affecting your apprentice duties, so I'll let it slide."

Volepaw sighed in relief and let herself relax. "Thank you, Adderstrike."

She dipped her head slightly, and the three spent the rest of the trip home in silence.

* * *

 **((A/N)) Hello~! It's Kestrel. Here's the first chapter I've written in a while, so I'm a bit out of practice. Also I've made a new Tumblr blog for this series. You can ask questions about the fic, submit fanart, and just ask me about Warriors in general. There will be a link somewhere in my description. Thanks again for your patience.**

 **~Kestrel**


	20. Chapter 19

Fallenpaw sleepily blinked her eyes open. She yawned and sat up in her nest. She failed to notice the shuffling in the back of the den as she groomed her pelt.

"Good morning, Fallenpaw. Thought you'd never wake up."

Fallenpaw jolted at the sudden noise, and then sighed.

"Sheepnose, you nearly scared me out of my fur."

The she-cat purred. "You're still half-asleep, huh?" Fallenpaw sent a half-hearted glare in her mentor's direction. "Well, you better wake up. I need you to do something for me."

Fallenpaw pricked her ears. "What is it?"

"I need you to go out to the little pond at the edge of the territory," she replied.

Fallenpaw got to her paws and stretched. "The one with the willow tree?"

"Yeah. There should be some borage growing around there now. It'd be nice to have some since Iceflower's kits are nearly here."

"Why aren't you coming with me?"

"Mousetail's cough is back and it's worse than it was before. I want to stay here to watch over her."

"Oh, alright. See you later!"

As she exited the den, Sheepnose called after her. "Bring a warrior with you!"

"Okay!"

* * *

"Y'know, Wolfstep, when Sheepnose told me to bring a warrior with me, I think she meant someone a bit more experienced."

Fallenpaw heard a scoff from her right. "I'm plenty experienced!"

"You've only been a warrior for a moon now," she purred.

"I'm hurt."

Fallenpaw grinned. "Hey, what does the forest look like? Last I saw it, everything was frozen over."

Wolfstep thought for a moment. "Everything's green. There are lots of different flowers growing everywhere. It rained last night, so there's still dew on the leaves. Right now there's sunlight peeking through the branches, and…"

Fallenpaw let out a content sigh as she visualized the forest like Wolfstep described it. She could practically see the ground laying out before her. Despite this, she still tripped on a protruding root in her distraction. Pain flared from her paw and up her leg.

She heard Wolfstep curse and stop in his tracks.

"I'm fine," she growled, standing up.

"Sorry about that, Fallenpaw," Wolfstep sighed. "I should've been looking out for you."

Fallenpaw smiled and brushed her tail against his shoulder. "C'mon, I think we're almost there."

* * *

"Just nip off the leaves like this."

"Bleh! How do you medicine cats stand chewing this stuff up?"

Fallenpaw snickered. "You warriors are so weak when it comes to stuff like this."

"Hey," Wolfstep mumbled around a mouthful of leaves. "You were a warrior once, too."

Fallenpaw added another leaf to their pile. "Not anymore."

She heard his movements come to an abrupt stop. Then, he sighed.

"I'm sorry, Fallenpaw, I-."

"Hey," Fallenpaw interrupted. "Stop apologizing to me like this."

The sound of shuffling paws reached her ears. "I'm sor-." Fallenpaw shot him a glare, and he stopped abruptly. "It's just that… I sort of blame myself for what happened…"

Fallenpaw sighed and turned her body to fully face him. "You weren't at the battle, you couldn't have-."

"That's exactly what's wrong! I…" He hesitated. "I was worried about you and Volepaw from the moment Ivystar announced who would be going off to fight. I tried to convince him to let me go with you, but…" He sighed. "It's my fault you got hurt because I gave up too easily."

Fallenpaw blinked. She had always known Wolfstep as cold and quiet. Him revealing this much was… uncharacteristic of him, to say the least. Now, he was silent. Occasionally, Fallenpaw would hear his tail move across the ground. She smiled gently and pressed her face into his shoulder.

"Wolfstep," she murmured. "I know I can't change your mind, but I can try. I don't blame you for this, I never did, and you can't keep beating yourself up over it. You'll get nothing from being miserable all the time… Trust me, I know."

Wolfstep had rested his head atop hers while she was speaking. "What do you mean?"

"Before I decided to become Sheepnose's apprentice and train as a medicine cat, I was so… depressed. It kinda felt like my life was over. I pushed everyone away… you, Maplewind, even Volepaw. That got me nowhere. I wasn't really happy again until I visited the Crystal Pool for the first time. When I fell asleep… I could see again, and StarClan was beautiful. All of the warriors there were so compassionate and welcoming. I finally felt something again." She shifted so that she and Wolfstep were face-to-face. "So I guess what I'm trying to say is that you just need to find something that makes you happy. In my case, that thing is being a medicine cat."

Wolfstep rested his chin atop her head again, and Fallenpaw felt him grin. He mumbled something, and when she asked him to repeat it, he brushed her off and told her she was just hearing things. But Fallenpaw didn't just hear things, and she had heard Wolfstep loud and clear.

As they padded back to camp, side-by-side, she smiled around her mouthful of borage leaves. Wolfstep's words re-ran in her mind.

" _I think I already have."_

* * *

 **((A/N)) Hey guys, Kestrel here. As you can see, updates are super slow now. School's started and I'm gonna have a lot less time to write. I'll try my best though.**

 **Also, I've slightly changed the prophecy. It now reads "When the storm comes, shining ice will harden every heart..." The rest is still the same.**

 **Thanks bunches for reading~!**

 **~ Kestrel**


	21. Chapter 20

"That was an amazing catch, Volepaw!"

Volepaw felt her ears heat up slightly at Maplewind's praise. The young warrior had come hunting with her and Adderstrike. The catch in question was a magpie. It had sensed Volepaw's approach, and she had leapt into the air in order to catch it. She smiled bashfully around her mouthful of black and white feathers.

"Yes," Adderstrike mewed around a couple mouse tails. "Those strong hind legs of yours certainly help with hunting. Don't forget to use them in your assessment tomorrow."

Maplewind nodded. "I always knew she'd make a great hunter!"

Volepaw flicked her ears, acknowledging their compliments. As they drew closer to camp, she could see Ivystar standing on top of the Meeting Rock. Adderstrike seemed to notice, too. She narrowed her eyes and sped up slightly. Maplewind and Volepaw followed suit.

They halted at the entrance to camp. In front of the Meeting Rock sat three cats: Thornheart, Harepaw, and Vinepaw of OneClan.

Adderstrike laid her fresh-kill at Volepaw's paws. "Take these to the fresh-kill pile."

She turned and stalked over to the Meeting Rock, climbing up and sitting at Ivystar's side.

Maplewind turned to her. "I'll take all this to the pile. You go find somewhere to sit."

"Okay." Volepaw dropped her magpie at the she-cat's paws.

After weaving through the gathered cats, Volepaw managed to squeeze into a spot next to Otterpelt. Her mother gave her a quick lick between the ears before turning her attention back to the Meeting Rock.

Ivystar, now joined by Adderstrike, gazed down at the three OneClan warriors with narrowed, green eyes. Thornheart stared right back, her yellow eyes gleaming with determination. Vinepaw and Harepaw stood behind the old she-cat. Harepaw seemed to be avoiding eye contact with ShiningClan's leader, while Vinepaw was doing almost the same as Thornheart.

"Why are they here, Ivystar?" Adderstrike inquired, glaring maliciously down at the three.

"We wish to join ShiningClan," Thornheart growled.

"Just the three of you?" The deputy's disbelief was evident. "Where is the rest of OneClan?"

"Those cowards are on their way to DuskClan right now."

Ivystar tilted his head slightly. "And why aren't you with them?"

Thornheart snorted. "Like I said, they're cowards. They're takin' the easy way out. But us? We want to earn our respect just like you."

Volepaw winced at her wording. She suddenly recalled what Ivystar had said at the first Gathering after ShiningClan had chased away the rogues…

* * *

" _With the help of OneClan, we have chased the rogue group led by my brother out of the forest."_

" _What rogue group?"_

" _Oh, StarClan, another one of his excuses."_

" _There are rogues in the forest?"_

" _Ivystar, what are you talking about?"_

" _Wildstar, I've told you time and time again that the cat who keeps trespassing on your territory isn't me, it was Gray. He led a group of rogues who were bent on taking ShiningClan down."_

" _Hah, he can't even own up to his own mistakes. How disgraceful…"_

" _You would know about that, huh, Heavypelt?"_

" _Says the deputy with a mate and kit."_

" _You-!"_

" _Adderstrike, stand down."_

" _You too, Heavypelt."_

" _Anyways, as I was saying, if you don't believe me, I'll make you. I will earn respect for my Clan in any way that I can."_

* * *

A tiny shudder ran throughout Volepaw's body as she remembered the glint in Ivystar's eyes. She was brought back to the present by his voice.

"How did you know about that? OneClan hasn't attended a Gathering since…"

Thornheart sighed. "We send a spy every full moon and when they return, they tell us everything that happened that night."

Adderstrike's ears twitched. "You're pretty good spies, then. No one's ever noticed you."

She nodded. "So, can we stay?"

"Unless anyone has any objections…" He trailed off, scanning the crowd as if daring someone to say something. He smiled when it went silent. "Welcome to ShiningClan. Eelfin and Dewleaf will show you to your dens. Dismissed."

Volepaw got to her paws. "I'm going to go and welcome them."

Otterpelt tilted her head. "Do you know them?"

She nodded. "They were at the battle with the rogues."

"Oh." Otterpelt brushed her tail against Volepaw's cheek. "Well, I'm heading to sleep. Goodnight, my dear."

Volepaw leaned into the touch. "Goodnight, mother."

Otterpelt gave her a small smile Volepaw had seen that smile before. It was the same sad smile that she had given her and Fallenpaw before the rogue battle. Volepaw sighed and briefly pressed her nose against her mother's shoulder before padding towards the apprentices' den where Vinepaw and Harepaw stood with Dewleaf. Harepaw smiled warmly at her as she approached, and Vinepaw acknowledged her with a curt nod.

"Fallenpaw and Oakpaw are bringing you bedding," Dewleaf told them. "I trust that Volepaw will help you out." She nodded quickly. "Alright then. Sleep well."

Harepaw dipped his head. "Thank you."

Vinepaw turned her gaze towards Volepaw once the warrior had left. "It's good to see that you're still up and about after the battle, Volepaw."

Volepaw smiled. "Yeah, you too." Harepaw's face fell slightly. She didn't have much time to ponder it before Oakpaw and Fallenpaw approached. She noticed the two new apprentices wince simultaneously as they caught a glimpse of Fallenpaw's scarred eyes. She was glad for once that her sister couldn't see.

"Hey, Cl-. I mean, Fallenpaw," Harepaw stammered.

Fallenpaw grunted a reply around her mouthful of bedding and ducked into the apprentice's den. Oakpaw followed after giving Vinepaw and Harepaw a friendly nod. Volepaw gestured for them to enter. They complied.

As she watched Vinepaw pad into the den, she saw what Harepaw had been upset about. The gray and white she-cat walked with a slight limp, and her back-left leg was heavily scarred.

 _So she didn't come out of the battle completely unscathed._

Volepaw sighed and watched Harepaw's reddish tail disappear into the den before heading inside.

* * *

"So what kind of dens did you have back in OneClan?"

Volepaw had noticed Vinepaw and Harepaw intently observing their surroundings as Fallenpaw and Oakpaw made their nests. Fallenpaw had curled up next to Volepaw in her nest and rested her head on her shoulder. It made sense to her that they were uncomfortable in this new environment. She caught herself wondering what OneClan was like, and curiousity got the better of her.

"Our dens were underground," Harepaw replied. "They were dug out long ago by the first warriors of OneClan."

Oakpaw tilted his head. "So… like rabbit burrows?"

"Oakpaw!" Volepaw hissed. Fallenpaw snickered sleepily.

Vinepaw smirked. "Yeah, perfect for _Hare_ paw," she purred.

Harepaw rolled his amber eyes. "Hares don't burrow, Vinepaw," he sighed.

Vinepaw grinned and rested her head on her paws. Her green eyes glittered with amusement. The five apprentices chattered contentedly until they could barely keep their eyes open. Vinepaw and Harepaw were the first to fall asleep, and Volepaw honestly couldn't believe they had even made it that far. The journey from OneClan to ShiningClan must have been long and tiring, and all these new transitions must be incredibly stressful for them. Fallenpaw mumbled something about staying in the apprentices' den for the night before she shut her eyes. Volepaw smiled and wrapped herself a bit tighter around her sister. She glanced over at Oakpaw.

The tom gazed right back at her. She'd known from the moment that Vinepaw and Harepaw were accepted into ShiningClan that they would have to have this conversation.

 _Might as well get it over with…_

"I don't think we'll be able to do our nighttime training sessions anymore, Volepaw."

Oakpaw beat her to it.

"Well," she whispered, "we could, we'd just have to be a lot sneakier about it."

Oakpaw shook his head. "It's fine. I've gotten a lot better thanks to you, but I think you've done enough. Besides," he said before Volepaw could get a word in, "you're going to be a warrior soon. You won't be able to sneak out of the warriors' den every night."

He had a point.

"Are you sure about this, Oakpaw?"

He nodded and smiled. "Thanks for everything, Volepaw. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Oakpaw."

* * *

 **((A/N)) Hey guys! Here's another shameless promo for my Warriors blog on Tumblr! The link's in my description. You can ask me about my fics or just Warriors things in general there. So yeah. Maybe give it a follow?**

 **~Kestrel**


	22. Chapter 21

Volepaw pressed herself against the ground, eyes narrowed, and tail-tip twitching. A squirrel clawed at the ground a few fox-lengths in front of her. Its warm scent made her mouth water.

Cautiously, she crept towards the unsuspecting rodent. When it was within leaping range, she struck. By the time it had noticed her, she was already on top of it. She delivered a swift bite to its neck, killing it quickly. It went limp, and she released it.

As she scraped earth over her catch, Volepaw found herself wondering where Adderstrike and Cloverpelt were watching her from. The two she-cats had said that they would be assessing her while she hunted, hidden from her sight.

 _It's probably best not to think about it. Just focus on hunting._

She tasted the air, met with nothing but stale scents. The freshest was…

 _Weasel._

Weasels were vicious little creatures. Bringing one back to camp would definitely help her pass her assessment. She followed the scent. As she padded along, she glanced around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Adderstrike's tortoiseshell pelt, or the gleam of Cloverpelt's green eyes. At one point, she could've sworn she heard a rustling in the undergrowth, but when she whipped her head around to find the source, there was nothing there. She had merely sighed and continued on.

Volepaw stopped to taste the air. She was getting close to the weasel. Before she began walking again, a rustle of wings sounded from behind her. Barely having to think, Volepaw leapt into the air, twisted, and caught the little bird in her jaws as it flew above her. She dug her fangs deeper into its flesh when her paws hit the ground again. She felt it go limp in her mouth. She let it fall to the ground, revealing that her catch was a plump little chickadee. A rustle to her right caught her attention.

"That was a wonderful catch, Volepaw!"

Adderstrike had emerged from the underbrush, her amber eyes gleaming happily. Cloverpelt slunk out from behind a bush.

"It was very impressive," the black-furred warrior mewed. "You barely had to think about what you were doing, and you reacted as soon as you heard wingbeats."

Volepaw smiled. It was a nice catch. Maybe she'd share it with Fallenpaw later.

Adderstrike opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a tom's mew.

"Echo! Where are you?"

"Shh! We're in Clan territory," hissed a she-cat.

Adderstrike completely froze up, wide eyes gazing in the direction of the voices. Without a word, she bounded towards them. Cloverpelt signaled for Volepaw to follow and chased after the deputy.

Cloverpelt stopped abruptly, causing Volepaw to bump into her backside. After mumbling a quick apology, she took in the sight before her.

Adderstrike stood as still as stone, staring at the two cats in front of her with shocked amber eyes.

The first was a small, dark brown tom. His golden eyes flicked from Adderstrike, to Cloverpelt, and then to her nervously. The other was a she-cat with long black and white tabby fur. Her eyes were the same exact shade of amber as Adderstrike's…

"Badgerpaw?" Adderstrike breathed, her voice barely audible.

The she-cat smiled. "Adderstrike."

Adderstrike took a tentative step forward. Badgerpaw gave a quiet purr before closing the distance between them. She wrapped her tail around Adderstrike and laid her head atop hers. Volepaw heard her mentor sigh contentedly as she buried her face into her sister's long fur.

"Hey," Adderstrike mumbled. "How'd you know my warrior name?"

"I've been watching the Gatherings," Badgerpaw answered. When she continued, her tone was suddenly very terse. "Speaking of Gatherings… what Ivystar said to DuskClan…"

Adderstrike pulled away from her. "Which part?"

Badgerpaw sighed. "The 'earning respect' part."

"Yeah?" Adderstrike smirked. "What about it?"

Badgerpaw narrowed her eyes. "You're making DuskClan live in fear of you."

Adderstike snorted. "Yeah, their fault for not trusting Ivystar."

"I trust him. I know what those rogues can do, Adderstrike. Brynjolf here used to be one of them." She gestured to the tom behind her. He gave a little nod. "They were terrible. Striking fear into the hearts of every cat who were unfortunate to meet them, killing for their own pleasure… You're no better than them with what you're doing."

Volepaw saw Adderstrike's expression rapidly shift from hurt to regret to anger. She maliciously glared at Badgerpaw.

"Why did you even come to ShiningClan if you think of us as rogues?"

Badgerpaw's face was devoid of emotion. "We're looking for a friend. She ran off a while ago and hasn't returned."

"Have you seen her?" Brynjolf, the tom, asked. "She's black with a white belly and paws. Pretty young, a bit on the small side."

"No," Adderstrike growled. "You'd better find her and get out before another patrol finds you. And don't ever come back. Not that you'd want to return to _rogue_ territory."

With that, she whipped around and stalked off into the forest. Cloverpelt sighed and approached the two.

"I'm sorry about that," she mewed. "But she's right, you really should find your friend and leave."

Badgerpaw nodded. "I understand. Are you sure you haven't seen her around?"

"No." Cloverpelt turned to her. "You, Volepaw?"

Suddenly, all eyes were on her. She hurriedly shook her head. Badgerpaw tilted her head.

"Volepaw… you're Adderstrike's apprentice right?"

"Yeah, not for long though," Cloverpelt answered for her, probably sensing her discomfort. "She just finished her assessment, and I'd be very surprised if she didn't pass."

Badgerpaw made a little humming noise before turning her amber gaze on Volepaw. "Take care of her for me, okay? When Volepaw nodded, she turned to Cloverpelt again. "It was good to see you again, Cloverpelt."

"And you, Badgerpaw."

Badgerpaw turned, beckoning to Brynjolf, and the two padded off into the forest, much quieter than when they arrived. Volepaw glanced towards where Adderstrike had disappeared once they were out of sight.

"You're worried about her, aren't you?" Cloverpelt inquired.

She sighed. "Yeah."

"Go find her," she mewed. "I'll take your catches back to camp for you."

Volepaw blinked. "Thanks, Cloverpelt. I'll be back soon."

Cloverpelt merely nodded before padding back towards where they came from.

 _Alright. Time to find Adderstrike._


	23. Chapter 22

Volepaw scarcely felt the ground underneath her paws as she pelted through the forest. She was positive that Adderstrike had gone to the pool with the willow tree. Finding her would be easy. Finding a way to calm her down, on the other paw, would be significantly more difficult.

Anxiety welled up in her like rain in a cloud. How was she supposed to talk to her mentor when she was this upset? She knew she had to try, but what if it didn't work?

Volepaw skidded to a halt. She had arrived at her destination quicker than anticipated. Sure enough, Adderstrike sat at the edge of the pool, intently gazing at its surface. Cautiously, she approached her mentor.

"Adderstrike?"

The tortoiseshell's head snapped up. She let her fur lie flat when she realized that it was Volepaw. Wordlessly, she turned her attention back to the pool. Volepaw sat next to her, curling her tail around her paws.

Volepaw struggled to find the right words. "So, about Badgerpaw…"

"I don't want to talk about her," Adderstrike growled.

"Okay," Volepaw mewed, pushing her frustration down. " _You_ don't have to talk about her, because I'm going to." Before Adderstrike could protest, she continued. "Badgerpaw still really cares about you. She just… doesn't agree with you."

"If she cared about me then she wouldn't call me a rogue to my face," she deadpanned.

Volepaw flinched. "That's… not what she meant by that, Adderstrike."

Adderstrike turned on her. " _Then what did she mean, Volepaw?"_

"I…" Volepaw struggled to come up with something, _anything._ She sighed in defeat. "I don't know, Adderstrike, just… not that." Adderstrike narrowed her eyes and turned away again. Volepaw stared down at their reflections on the pool's surface.

Why was she so terrible at comforting others? No matter what, she always ended up saying something wrong or not being convincing enough. Fallenpaw was so much better at this…

 _Fallenpaw._

Volepaw and Fallenpaw were as close as two sisters could be. A little argument like this could never separate them. They'd always remain by each other's sides, no matter the situation. Adderstrike must have felt that way towards her sisters, too. She still spoke with Pigeonheart even though they were in different Clans. Why should it be any different with Badgerpaw?

She risked speaking again. "You and Badgerpaw are sisters, Adderstrike. You and Pigeonheart still keep in touch, and she's in DuskClan. Why should you let this divide you and Badgerpaw?"

Adderstrike sighed. "Pigeonheart and I were separated from Badgerpaw from the start. She was always so much better than us, and she knew it. That's why she defended us when we got picked on by the older kits. She knew that we couldn't stick up for ourselves so she did it for us."

Frustrated, Volepaw dug her claws into the soft earth. Nothing was working. There was absolutely no way for her to cheer Adderstrike up.

 _Maybe it's best if I just leave her alone for now. She'll come to forgive Badgerpaw in time._

After what felt like moons and moons of cold silence, Adderstrike got to her paws.

"Let's get back to camp," she mumbled, not waiting for Volepaw to reply before stalking away.

Volepaw scrambled to stand and swiftly bounded after her mentor. As she fell into step with the tortoiseshell she-cat, she caught a whiff of a familiar scent. She recognized it as the weasel she was tracking earlier. She stopped suddenly, causing Adderstrike to come to a halt as well. She opened her mouth to say something, but Volepaw was quick to silence her with a flick of her tail. Her gaze was fixed on the long-bodied rodent crouched at the roots of a tree. Its muzzle was buried in the half-eaten carcass of a mouse. Volepaw dropped into her perfected hunter's stance. She moved herself so that she was behind the weasel before silently creeping forward. As she neared, she unsheathed her claws and tensed her muscles.

As she prepared to leap, however, its head snapped up. Its brown fur bristled and it was making a tiny growling noise. Beady black eyes were fixed on a shadowy form. Vivid amber eyes glared right back.

 _Adderstrike's distracting it for me._

Volepaw sent a subtle nod in Adderstrike's direction before pouncing on the weasel from behind.

The second her paws brushed against fur, the weasel whipped around, snarling and spitting at her. Its muzzle was still covered in mouse blood, and the smell of fresh-kill hung on its breath. Volepaw wrinkled her nose and dove in to deliver a quick bite to its slender neck.

Before her teeth could reach its throat, the weasel has lashed out at her, its tiny, thorn-sharp claws raking across her muzzle. She bit back a yelp of pain as she pulled away. Annoyed, she cuffed the weasel across its little head. She went in for the kill while it was still dazed. The rodent writhed in her grip, flailing its claws around and gnashing its blood-stained fangs. Volepaw tightened her grip around its neck, feeling the weasel's movements become more feeble. Finally, it went still.

Volepaw let the weasel fall from her jaws and onto the ground. She swiped her tongue around her lips, tasting the weasel's blood as well as her own. Suddenly, she remembered the beating that the little creature had given her. Sitting back, she licked one paw and swiped it over the scratch, cleaning the blood away from it. She winced at the harsh sting that resulted from her touching the wound.

Adderstrike chuckled quietly as she padded towards her. "Showing off, eh?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Volepaw purred in reply. "Y'know I was going to catch that for my assessment. I scented it and started following its trail, but that chickadee distracted me."

Adderstrike nodded towards the dead weasel. "That was a wonderful catch, by the way. And you'll want to see Sheepnose about that scratch."

"Yeah," Volepaw mumbled, running her paw over the wound again. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

"You know me so well." Adderstrike smiled warmly at her. "C'mon let's head back, Volepaw."

"I'm right behind you, Adderstrike."

* * *

 **((A/N)) Hey it's Kestrel. So this fic is almost over. Just one last chapter, and then we're moving on to book two out of three. There'll be a bit of a hiatus between this and the next one so I can better plan it out ((I kind of just improvised this one and I ended up forgetting to write a few scenes, whoops)) and get a bit of a head start on the beginning chapters. I really enjoyed writing this and finally getting my characters and story into a physical form ((I've had Adderstrike, Pigeonheart, and Badgerpaw for years without a story to put them into)). Thank you so so much for staying with me through this, it really helped me get through a lot.**

 **If you read all of this rambling, wow, I'm impressed, and thank you again for being such great people you all mean so much to me.**

 **Also you should follow my Warriors blog on Tumblr. I reblog lots of writing tips and cool art and eventually I'll have official art of all of my characters there. I also accept questions about my stories there. There's a link in my description/bio/about ((don't know what it's called aaa)).**

 **Anyways, thanks for like, the third time. Your support means a lot to me.**

 **~Kestrel**

 **((also in case you were wondering, the reason I wrote this here as opposed to the next chapter is because I feel like a note at the end of it would kind of ruin the mood I'm going for next chapter so yeah.))**


	24. Chapter 23

"I, Ivystar, leader of ShiningClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn."

 _This is it._

"Volepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

 _I've been waiting for this since I was a kit. Of course!_

"I do."

 _I'm finally going to get my wish._

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your Warrior name. Volepaw, from this moment you will be known as Volebriar. StarClan honors your exceptional hunting skills, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShiningClan."

 _I'm a warrior now._

"Volebriar! Volebriar!"

Volebriar felt a comfortable warmth spread throughout her entire body as her Clan chanted her new name. She turned to Ivystar so he could touch his nose to her head. In return, she licked his shoulder. When she pulled away, she saw Adderstrike's bright, smiling eyes proudly gazing at her.

She and her former mentor climbed down from the Meeting Rock together as Ivystar dismissed the meeting.

"I'm proud to have been your mentor, Volebriar," Adderstrike mewed as their paws hit the earth.

Volebriar dipped her head. "I'm honored to have been your apprentice."

Adderstrike smiled. "You should go see your family, I'm sure they're waiting."

"So should you," Volebriar retorted. Adderstrike tilted her head in confusion. "You should tell Emberpad and Rocktail about Badgerpaw. They'll be happy to hear that their daughter is alive and well."

Adderstrike sighed. "You're really adamant about this, aren't you?"

"Yup," Volebriar answered, already shoving Adderstrike towards the elders' den where her parents sat. "Go."

Adderstrike sent a playful glare back at her before padding towards the elders. Volebriar smirked at her before turning and heading to her own family.

Otterpelt, Poolgaze, and Fallenpaw sat in front of the medicine den. Her parents looked up as she approached, both wearing proud grins.

"Oh, my precious little warrior," Otterpelt breathed as she wrapped herself around Volebriar. "I'm so proud of you."

"Mother," Volebriar whined as her mother groomed the fur behind her ears. "I'm not a kit anymore."

Poolgaze purred. "You'll always be a little kit in Otterpelt's eyes, no matter what."

Fallenpaw snickered.

Volebriar sighed and leaned into Otterpelt's touch rather than attempting to fight it. She'd never admit it out loud, but she loved being fawned over like this.

"Hey, Volebriar. When you're done cuddling over there, maybe you'll come and say goodbye to your old denmates?"

"Vinepaw, be nice!"

Volebriar pulled away from Otterpelt and turned to see Vinepaw, Harepaw, and Oakpaw standing behind her. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm not saying goodbye, you three will be in the warriors' den before you realize I'm gone."

"Aw, really?" Vinepaw drawled. "We're gonna miss the way your back legs hang out of your nest and take up half the den."

"Vinepaw," Harepaw hissed again.

Oakpaw giggled. "Well, I really will miss you, Volebriar."

"Hey," Vinepaw protested, "I'll miss her, too. I'm just trying to lighten things up!"

Volebriar rolled her eyes. "You're acting like I'm leaving the Clan. I'll only be a few pawsteps away."

Vinepaw sighed dramatically. "But the apprentice's den won't be the same without your snoring and-."

"Okay," Harepaw interrupted. "Volebriar probably wants to talk to her family now. Let's go see if the elders need anything."

After Vinepaw was practically dragged away by Harepaw, Oakpaw gave a warm smile and chased after them.

"You have no idea how lucky you are to have your full name," Fallenpaw mewed, padding up to her from behind. "I'll still be a 'paw for quite a while. Even Oakpaw's gonna have his warrior name before me."

Volebriar pressed her cheek against her sister's. "Aww, listen to my little sister, she's so jealous because her older sister's a warrior and she's still just a 'paw."

Fallenpaw shoved her face away. "Okay, nope. Time to stop with that."

Volebriar purred and wrapped her tail around Fallenpaw's. "Seriously, though, don't worry about it. You'll have your full name in no time."

"Sure. Good luck with your silent vigil!"

"Thanks."

* * *

Bright white stars flecked the pitch-black sky. The claw-shaped moon cast a pale, white shine over the forest. Columns of milky light shone through the leaves of the oaks and created gorgeous patterns on the forest floor. An owl hooted somewhere in the distance.

Volebriar exhaled a content sigh as she took in the sights around her. It was a calm, quiet night, perfect for a vigil. The only thing that could make it better would be being allowed to move through it. She could practically feel the air rushing through her fur as she ran, the leaves crunching underneath her paws, and her heart pounding in her ears.

Thought she had to admit, this calm _was_ nice.

Between fighting the rouges and DuskClan and worrying nonstop about her friends, she hadn't had much time to think. And she had a lot to think about.

Light pawsteps brought her back to attention. Volebriar looked up. Fallenpaw had padded up behind her. The white flecks in her fur almost glowed in the moonlight. She sat at Volebriar's side, staring into nothing as she gently rested her speckled tail on her flank. Volebriar brushed her tail against her sister's to acknowledge her presence.

 _You should've been sitting this vigil with me._

If Fallenpaw hadn't been injured during that battle with the rogues, she would've received her warrior name today. She would've been able to continue with her warrior training. She would've...

Volebriar felt her head thump against something. Fallenpaw had pulled her towards her and tucked Volebriar's head underneath her chin.

"Stop that," her sister whispered. "I know exactly what you're thinking about. I'm happy training under Sheepnose. It's what StarClan wanted for me. I just… needed a little shove to realize it." Volebriar let her eyes slide shut. She felt her breathing fall into time with Fallenpaw's. A smile pulled at her lips, and Fallenpaw chuckled lightly. "And this is what StarClan wants for you. You're destined for greater things than you could ever imagine, Volebriar, even though you might not know it yet."


End file.
